Erebus Ferrox Riddle
by dan4eva
Summary: Harry Potter is not the son of James and Lily Potter but the son of Lord Voldemort and his mistress, Lady Moraga. What happens when the Prince of Darkness attends Hogwarts and its esteemed Headmaster knows not who he is? And just who is Lady Moraga? Read.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **Here's the second story to chose from. Honesty i love them both but i can only write a few stories at the same time so i hope you make it easier for me. No matter which story you choose, i promise you that they will be written at the best of my ability...

This story hasn't been beta-ed so please bear with the grammar, where ever it is not correct.

**Disclaimer:** If i said i was mine, would you believe me?. I guess not

Chapter 1

The darkest, most feared wizard in the world strode deliberately towards the small cottage at the end of the dirt road, his dark regal appearance more ominous in the presence of the waning moon. If some Muggle were to unfortunately stumble upon his path right at this moment, said Muggle would definitely run with its tail in between its legs, figuratively speaking of course, just at the sight of the Dark Lord's malevolent ruby red eyes. As he took another step towards his intended direction, two dark hooded individuals Apparated and flanked him on either side, their faces concealed by green masks, indicating their ranks within the Dark's circle. Lord Voldemort did nothing to acknowledge the arrival of two of his most trusted _friends _but with a simple nod of his head. Together the three of them continued their trek towards the house in silence.

The three dark wizards soon felt a pressing force that prevented them from taking another step towards the cottage that now stood only a few feet from them. Voldemort turned for the first time to the man on his left and asked, lacking his customary hiss, "Were you able to find the rat?"

"Why of course Tom!" said the man flippantly, "Do you take me for a common Death Eater?"

Voldemort gritted his teeth and hissed at the man's brazenness, though his scarlet eyes flashed briefly in amusement. Had it been another Death Eater, that person would have surely died just by just calling him by his real name. However since both men at present company have known him for years, he let it slip, though the masked man seem to find his annoyance amusing, for even behind his mask, the Dark Lord could feel his ridiculous smirk.

'_Blasted Gryffindor', _thought Voldemort.

"Don't get your knickers in a twist Tom, I found the rat. Suffice to say that Potter and Pettigrew both fell for it." said the same man to the left of the Dark Lord, pulling out a rolled piece of parchment from within his robes and handing it to the Dark Lord. This time Voldemort wisely chose to ignore the man's comments, knowing full well that his Inner Circle could never be scared witless by mere glares; sometimes he wonders how he ever came to tolerate them in the first place.

The man to the right of the Dark Lord rolled his eyes and shook his head at his companion's antics; trust the man to fool around at such an important mission.

Voldemort's death glares all but made the earlier man grin wider, causing the Dark Lord to curse incomprehensibly in Parseltongue as he grabbed the parchment from the man. Unravelling the piece of parchment revealed the much needed information to break through what was felt of the old coot's Fidelius Charm. For months now, the Dark had temporarily ceased all Death Eater activities, to the delight of the Wizarding public, to solely focus all its sources in locating the Potters; and now the final stages of the plan were about to be executed. Committing the words to memory, Voldemort took out his wand, waved it in an uncharacteristic fashion and uttered a string of words in Latin, before passing through the wards as though nothing had halted his steps in the first place. His two companions followed him soon after, their wands now held firmly at a ready.

"_Confringo__!_"

The wooden door was blasted off its hinges by a jet of blue light that erupted from the Dark Lord's wand and the three dark clad wizards subsequently heard a man shouting to someone else in the room.

"Lily, he's here. Take Harry and go!" shouted James Potter before appearing in front of the feared Dark Lord and his followers. Gone was the cocky stance James Potter was associated with and in its place was a man determined to save his small family; whatever the cost. However no matter how much Gryffindor bravado he displayed, no one could help but feel a trickle fear at the sight of darkest wizard the world has come to know standing on your doorstep, wand pointed straight at you.

Voldemort watched as the emotions flickered pass the stupid Gryffindor's face. He did not need to look through the man's head to tell that he had not expected to be attacked considering the number of precautions the meddling old fool had placed on their home. He knew the Light trusted their leader too readily beyond a shadow of a doubt, but this was just ridiculous.

"Potter," Voldemort all but spat at the man before him.

A shiver of fear ran down James' spine, but surprisingly the hand holding his wand was still steadily pointed at the Dark Lord.

Voldemort stared at the wand pointed at him and sneered. "What exactly do you plan to hit me with, Potter?"

"What ever it takes to rid the world of you, you snake face bastard!"

Anger flashed dangerously in the pools of ruby that were the Dark Lord's eyes. "So the poster boy for the Light actually has the nerve to perform the Dark Arts? I thought the old fool abhor the use of them? You of all his followers should know that." said Voldemort silkily causing his two companions to snigger.

"What ever it takes!" repeated James, his hazel eyes brimming with his stupid Gryffindor determination and bravery.

"Now Potter," said Voldemort, lowering his wand a fraction, though he wasn't stupid as too actually lower it any lower than an inch. "Being the merciful Lord that I am, I'm going to give you another chance. The Potter Family is one of the last few ancient pureblood families still alive today and you are an extremely gifted Auror, it would all go to such a waste if I have to kill you and – _your family_. You would do well in the new magical order I have promised my followers once both the Order and the Ministry are permanently dealt with."

"If you think I would turn over to the Dark and betray Dumbledore, you're even more stupid than I –" shouted James, but before he could finish his sentence, he found himself thrown through the air and his body felt like it was being stabbed by a thousand burning knives.

The man to the left of the Dark Lord stepped forward and spoke over the screams that came from James' tortured body, "Watch your tongue Potter! The Dark Lord may want to give you a chance but I for one disagree with him."

The only thing visible of the man beneath his mask was his cold blue eyes that were strikingly familiar to James. It was a full minute before the man lifted his curse and moved back to take his place just behind the Dark Lord, a satisfied smirk playing beneath his green mask.

Unfazed by his _friend's_ sudden attack on his enemy, Voldemort crouched down so as to be on the same level as Potter who was struggling to get back on his feet. "Lassssssst chance Potter," he hissed, "Join me or die…."

Still dealing with the effects of the Cruciatus, James stared defiantly into bloody depths before him and gathered all his courage before spitting directly onto the Dark Lord's immaculately dark robes, staining it wonderfully with both blood and saliva. Voldemort was at first shocked but it was immediately replaced with that of cold indifference. Removing the revolting stain off his robes with a flick of the wand, Voldemort stood up, immediately towering over the injured man. "You cannot say I didn't offer you a reprieve for siding with the losing side when you literally spat it back at me."

"I'd rather die than become your servant!" James said vehemently, eyeing the two men that stood behind the Dark Lord.

"Very well, Potter, I shall grant your wish,"

James' hazel eyes widen in understanding, yet the only indication he got that Voldemort was about to attack him was the darkening of his eyes and before he knew it, he was hit with a blast of purple light and he came crashing towards the wall, blood trickling down his face.

Voldemort stood before the fallen man and cast a very potent Cruciatus, eliciting one of the most tortured screams he had ever heard in his history of casting the Unforgivable. The impromptu torture sessions lasted for twenty minutes with an interval of a minute every now and then to ensure that Potter was still alive to actually feel the pain. By the time the last of the curse had been lifted, James was a dreadful sight; blood oozed freely from several cuts on his body and one of his legs was twisted in a manner that clearly showed it was broken.

"I would love to continue this with you Potter, but since I have other urgent matters to attend to, I shall leave you in the hands of my faithful followers. But do not worry; their abilities are known to equal mine." Voldemort gestured for his two generals to come forward. "Enjoy yourselves." he said, watching Potter's face pale in comparison at the implication of his words.

The two green masked wizards eyed James with evil anticipation and raised their wands.

Voldemort left the room in search for the two people he had been meaning to see; James' tormented screams music to his ears. He soon reached a flight of steps and made his way up as his charcoal black robes swept mysteriously behind him. His peripheral vision caught sight of light seeping out from one of the rooms to his left and made a move towards it, knowing what waited for him inside.

The door opened without a single creak and he found himself inside a warmly decorated nursery. Voldemort, the embodiment of a powerful Dark Lord, would normally sneer at the display of such _Gryffindor _colours but that was quickly negated at the sight of an infant no older than one, bouncing merrily atop the lap of a woman with flaming red hair.

Lily Evans, or more commonly known to the Wizarding world as Lily Potter, turned towards the new yet familiar presence that had entered her son's room and her beautiful face was graced with the first genuine smile she had given in months, no matter how small it was. She scooped up her gurgling son and placed him inside his crib before casually moving towards the man.

"You're late. But I trust so far everything is going according to plan?" she asked, her face impassive.

However before Voldemort could reply to her question, the whole house was filled yet again with the screams of James Potter; this time sounding as if his blood was coursing through his body in the wrong direction. Lily looked behind the imposing man as if trying to see whether the man who was screaming was actually behind them instead of below them judging by the screams of the man. She raised her brow in question at the Dark Lord.

"They've been waiting for months to test their creativity." came the Dark Lord's casual reply. Lily stared disbelievingly at the scarlet eyes, the only one who could do so without shivering slightly at the depths of darkness that could be found within, and before she could help herself, she smiled in amusement.

Long pale arms found themselves wrapped around her and her earlier reservations towards the man vanished, revelling at the comforting feel of his power and grace she had missed for so long

"I hoped they have not tainted him so," said Voldemort softly, looking affectionately at the toddler who was preoccupied with his toy wand, pointing it alternately at his soft toys, mumbling spells he'd undoubtedly heard from his mother since the Dark Lord had yet to meet a man, much less a teething boy with such a vocabulary of spells.

Lily snorted uncharacteristically and turned to look at her son as well, "The boy is so much like you that I lose count months ago trying to cover up for his _un-Lightly _actions. He actually laughed just like you when James fell of his broom last week. Imagine that. Tom, the boy is as much a Light wizard as you or I."

Voldemort disentangled himself from the red-haired woman and swept towards the boy. Innocent green eyes rimmed with scarlet stared at him and slowly the child reached out with his hands. Voldemort turned to Lily, not really sure of what to do. Lily, for her part, smiled at the Dark Lord's uneasiness. The man may be the most feared wizard alive, but that had not prepared him caring for a child.

With a reassuring nod from Lily, Voldemort waved his hand over his face to vanish the snake-like mask he placed over his handsome features then turned his attention back to the boy who was still waiting for him with his hands wide open, inviting him. Voldemort bent down and lifted the small boy into his arms. As soon as the boy was securely in his arms, he felt a surged of magic quite unlike the kind he'd associated himself for years. It was – warm and it made him _happy_ inside. Definitely not a feeling your average Dark Lord would ever feel.

The boy tilted his head and giggled happily making both the Dark Lord and Lily beam in delight. "Erebus…" Voldemort said aloud, gathering the attention of the green-eyed boy. "My son."

Harry Potter or rather Erebus Ferrox Riddle from now on, giggled once more and buried his head in his father's robes. Voldemort delicately ran a long thin finger along the boy's rosy cheeks and murmured softly, "My child… Dumbledore's a fool to believe you belong to him."

At that precise moment maniacal laughter rang throughout the room to be followed by more screams of agony. Erebus immediately lifted his head from the comfortable position it had been resting on and giggled happily at the agonizing screams, turning his head from side to side, looking for the source.

Voldemort stared at the child and turned to Lily again who gave him an _I-told-you-so_ look. A smile began to form on his pale face and whispered softly to his son, "Dumbledore is indeed a fool."

"Let's get to it Tom, we won't have much time left." said Lily, hating having to stop the bonding between father and son.

"Yes yes. You're right as always," said Voldemort, not bothering to bring down the small child who had gone back to laying its head contently on his shoulder. Pulling out his wand, he uttered a spell in Parseltongue, soon after, a golem appeared floating in midair; an exact replica of Lily Potter. The real Lily also conjured a vial of her own blood that she had been collecting for over a year. They didn't want to take any chances that Dumbledore would suspect something was a miss and decided that real blood would assuage any doubts he may have about the supposed death of James Potter's beloved wife.

"What about Erebus?" asked Lily once she had poured more than enough blood around her _golem-corpse._

Voldemort was about to conjure yet another golem when footsteps thundered up the stairs. Though the man was still wearing his mask, Voldemort could clearly see that the man was flustered, his robes flecked with caking blood.

"Tom," the man gasped. "The Order!"

"The Order?" snapped Voldemort, jolting the small boy in his arms.

"Potter somehow managed to summon his Phoenix Pendant and has alerted Dumbledore and the Order. Black has already Apparated away to avoid suspicions. We have to get out of here Tom, the Order will be here any –"

But before he could even finish his sentence, the tell tale signs of bellowing voices below alerted them that the Order had indeed arrived.

Voldemort hissed under his breath a few chosen curses in Parseltongue that made the little boy perk up at the sound.

"Severus, get Lily out of here now." ordered Voldemort, pushing the woman towards the man named Severus.

Lily's eyes widen and was about to argue when she felt the familiar feel of both a Notice-Me-Not and a Silencing Charm cast upon her. She stared angrily at the foolish man and shouted at him but none could hear her. Severus wrapped his arms around her, restraining her, but she was still struggling.

"Albusssssss…." they heard the Dark Lord hiss at someone. Severus and Lily both turned in unison to see that Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, had arrived.

"Tom," said Albus conversationally causing the other man to hiss angrily but upon seeing the dead body of Lily Potter sprawled on the floor and the Potter's child in the Dark Lord's arms staring at him, Dumbledore's facial expression changed from that of an impassive professor to that of a distressed old man.

"Are you sssssssad to ssssssee one of your Mudbloodssssssss die?" taunted Voldemort, having placed his mask over his face before Dumbledore arrived.

Dumbledore was taken with an unnatural agility for a man his age and cast a spell towards Voldemort. Voldemort barely saw the jet of light coming towards him but managed to dodge it nonetheless.

Lily watched helplessly as the two most powerful wizards duelled fiercely to the death, all the while her only son was still in his father's arms, caught in the middle of the fray. Her breath caught when a jet of sickly green light nearly took its mark on the Dark Lord's chest. She had never seen either duel as hard as she was seeing them duel now. She knew that this was it, that either one of these men, who both had a hand in altering her life completely, would meet his end.

She was however not prepared for another blast of green light that headed not towards her husband but towards her son. Time seemed to have come to a stand still as she watched the deadly light hurl itself towards her boy who had barely known his father. She reached out, although she knew no one could see her, to try and save her son from the inescapable hands of death; that was when the unthinkable occurred. Instead of the curse bringing immediate death to her son, the light had somehow bounced back from her son's forehead causing it to rebound back to its caster.

Dumbledore stared in shock as the green light now headed towards him. He only had enough time to cast a final spell; a Mirror charm, to deflect the stray curse away from him. Voldemort, who surprisingly did not look surprised at what his son had done, just stood there as the curse now headed towards him, a victorious smile on his face.

Lily screamed like she had never screamed before. She didn't know why the man just stood there, not bothering to block the curse; those were not the actions of the Heir of Slytherin. She shuddered at the next spontaneous thought that came to her mind… that was _Gryffindorish_! Lily refused to look at the direction where her husband and son once stood once the dust and rubble brought on by the curse settled down. It was only until she heard Severus' audible gasp did she chance to look at the scene.

What she saw would be imbedded in her memory forever, for instead of seeing the mangled body of the dead Dark Lord, all that was left in the room were the dark robes Lord Voldemort had worn not a few moments ago. But what struck her the most was that her son had somehow survived the backlash of the curse that had hit his father and appeared below her feet, nothing but a bleeding gash on his forehead to indicate that he had been caught in the middle of a Killing Curse.

Lily felt the hot traces of tears coming down her cheeks as she bent down to pick up her son who was staring wide eyed in distress. She buried her face in his soft tuff of black hair, so like his father's, and held him tightly in her hands. It wasn't supposed to end this way, she thought angrily to herself. He was supposed to get them out of the Light and together they would bring down the Order! Tonight was supposed to be the night the Dark finally conquered the Light, not the other way around. There was a part of her that refused to believe that this was the end for them; that somehow Tom had another plan up his sleeves, for Salazar's sake the man had overcome so many things. But as she stared at the scene before her, there was nothing left to suggest that he was still alive.

It was long after Dumbledore and the Order had cleared the house of her _body _and the remains of the Dark Lord did she allow herself to be ushered out of the house by Severus. She knew the man was shaken up as well; his usual mask of stoicism was clearly in shambles. He was muttering words to her but she wasn't listening, all she did was hold her son, who had now fallen asleep, closer to her.

They Apparated outside a pair of large iron wrought gates that led to a stunning manor that looked completely out of place in a village full of Muggles. Once they had keyed in their magic, the wards allowed them entrance and they walked up the path in painful silence. The front doors then opened to reveal a slightly tanned woman with long dark hair.

"My Lady, welcome –" greeted the woman, however one look at Lily's steely dark green eyes, she stopped.

"Pleased to see you too Bella," said Lily nonchalantly, though there was a hit of suppressed anger in her voice. "Would you please take Erebus to his room? I'd like to be alone." She handed her son to the surprised woman and walked swiftly through the halls, not paying attention to the joyous greetings the other occupants of the manor were giving her.

She reached forbidden wing of the manor, where only she and the Inner Circle could enter, and went through a room at the far side of the hall. The doors opened up to a large private chamber adorned with all sorts of trinkets, walls lined with bookshelves that reached all the way to the ceiling, and curtains of deep green framed the windows – the Dark Lord's study.

Walking through the room in a blurry of red and black, she made her way to one of the shelves and grabbed the nearest book, feverishly flipped through it before discarding it on the desk and tearing through the next set of books.

Soon the ancient dark wooden desk filled out with numerous books which varied from tombs entitled _'Dark Rituals'_ to '_A Quest for the Dark and Unyielding'_. However Lily refused to slow down, determined to find answers and ways to revive the Dark Lord Voldemort. She would not just sit down and let the Order get away with it; she had not sacrificed a lot of things for it to just end up like this.

The tears had long stopped flowing down her face and in its place, a feeling of deep seethed anger towards the man, who from the very beginning had tried to control her life. When she was younger, she was unlike any other Gryffindor who revered the great Albus Dumbledore, for there was always something that prevented her from fully taking in the Light. She, not even for a second, believed the holier-than-thou persona the old man tried to convey to his students and staff. And because of this, the old man had tried tirelessly to keep an eye on her, sometimes to the point where he would request her to remain in the school during Christmas break, undoubtedly so that he would be able to know everything that she did. This scrutiny of her every action that the headmaster had been so keen on doing, made her all the more determined to figure out why the headmaster was so adamant to keep her under his nose. And what she found out in her third set the course to what the headmaster was probably trying to prevent her from becoming; though still unknown to the Light, one of the most powerful dark witches of her time.

She was only in her fifth year when she finally got to meet the Dark Lord. At first she had been wary of the man but as they continued to meet over the years, she got to see a side of the Dark Lord not many were privileged to see and it was then that all her doubts about leaving behind all she had known disappeared. To the Light and to ensure that Dumbledore had no suspicions, she kept up her Gryffindor façade and even dated Potter, but she knew that inside, she was a snake; a snake worthy of the Dark Lord and no one dared challenge her power.

It had taken her years to master the Dark Arts but fortunately the Dark Lord had patiently put her under his wing, contrary to what others believed. But now, the only man she would ever love was gone and her emerald eyes hardened with such intensity, it would have scared the dead. She was brought out from her musings by the opening and closing of the door. Pulling out her wand to whoever it was that had violated the rules without her knowledge and entered the restricted area, she found a man, whose very robes screamed of wealth and long blonde hair that was tied loosely behind him, standing by the door and staring calmly at her pointed wand.

Lucius Abraxas Malfoy was a much respected man, both through the good deeds he had done for the Wizarding World and many more for the ones that the people should never have to know he had a hand in doing. He came from an extremely old and wealthy line of pureblood wizards, all who have stood firmly in their belief that the Wizarding World would be better off without the mudbloods and their Muggle relatives meddling in their affairs. As of now, he was proud to be in the Dark Lord's trusted Inner Circle, helping to permanently separate the Wizarding World from the Muggle World.

"Severus told me what happened," he said in a grim voice, walking towards Lily, slightly disturbed at the darker shade of green her eyes had taken.

"I don't get it," she mused aloud, taking another large tome from the shelf. "I don't get it why he didn't try dodging the curse."

"Neither do I, Lily," he answered. "But both you and I know that the Dark Lord never does anything without planning two three steps ahead."

"But why didn't he bother telling me what he was up to? Oh I know he was up to something Luc, all those times he suddenly goes missing and returns stronger than before." said Lily, looking angrily at Lucius, demanding an answer.

"If I had the answers to all your questions, you know I would tell you. But I don't." said Lucius. "With the loss of the Dark Lord, Dumbledore's forces would surely try to bring down our remaining forces, but we can't let that happen. The time has come for you to take charge."

"I don't give a damn about those bunches of deranged Death Eaters! I can take Dumbledore on my own!" Lily snapped, tossing yet another useless book amongst the pile on the desk.

"Most of them are a bit unhinged, I agree. But those who have stuck with us are exceedingly loyal to both the Inner Circle and our cause. You have no choice! You are next in line in the hierarchy. You HAVE to take command, or else we would truly have loss to the Light." exclaimed Lucius.

"You don't understand Lucius; he can't die just like that. You know as well as I of the steps the man has taken to escape death." said Lily. "There has got to be an answer here somewhere; a spell, a ritual, anything to reverse the effect of the spell." She waved her arms wildly at the many shelves she had yet to peruse that lined the dark walls.

"This room contains hundreds of books about both Dark and Ancient Magic and this is only a fraction of the countless private collection of books the Dark Lord has in both the third and fourth floor libraries. He could have gotten a spell in a book in either of those places. It would take you months to read through all of that!" said Lucius, trying to make the enraged woman see sense.

"Don't you not want him to return Lucius?" questioned Lily in a tone he did not like.

"What do you mean?" he asked warily.

"I want him resurrected and you seem determined to stop me from doing that. Are you tired of being third in command, Lucius? Do you think that because he is gone you can take charge of the Death Eaters? You should know by now that I more ruthless than the Dark Lord." said Lily, her eyes flashing in malevolence, taking a much darker shade of green that it almost looked black and stared darkly at the blond man.

Being shaken to the core by the accusations would be understatement as Lucius cowered back at the sight of the woman who was now walking slowly towards him.

"So tell me, Lucius, is that what you want?" she asked in a hard tone, her wand now held at a ready.

"M…M…M… My Lady, ne… ne… never would I… I…I dream of such things." Lucius stuttered shamelessly.

"Sometimes you make me think otherwise, Lucius." said Lily in dismay.

"My Lady…. Lil, I have always been loyal to you and the Dark Lord." exclaimed Lucius. "You know that!"

Lily stared right through him as if she was trying to read his mind. He cringed slightly at the weight of her dark eyes upon him but soon sighed in relief when he noticed her eyes reverting back to a much lighter shade. "Do I really know, Lucius? Do I?" said Lily softly, a faraway look in her eyes. "How do I know you won't turn your back on me?"

"Lily!" cried Lucius walking towards the clearly confused woman. "Never Lily, never have I thou–"

But before he could finish his sentence, Lily's eyes snapped back to face him; darker and more frightening than before. "Get out Lucius! I don't want to see anyone right now. GET OUT! I will deal with the Death Eaters when I feel like it." she literally screamed at him, her long finger pointing at the door. "OUT!"

Lucius gladly bowed to her and scurried out of the room; pleased that she hadn't decided to release her pent up anger on him. A part of him pitied who ever it was Lily was bound to choose later to let loose her anger on; those who thought that the Dark Lord was a maniac and a monster clearly had never met the Dark Lord's right-hand man or woman in this case.

Inside the confines of the Dark Lord's Private study, Lily returned to her feverish search of the shelves, screaming dark curses at no one in particular every now and then. It was only at the rustling of the curtains did she stop, midway through tossing a book, and pulled out her wand, directing it at the sound of the disturbance.

"Who are you? Show yourself!" she shouted, eyes wide open, searching the room.

Slowly, from within the darkness of the room, a shadow of a wizard emerged. If Lily had not been keeping a tight hold on her wand, she would have dropped it in a clutter at the sight that greeted her. Nearly stumbling over a large tome that littered the floor as she moved backwards in shock, she whispered harshly. "YOU!"

The spectre image of a wizard that came out from the shadows looked as if it wasn't expecting to appear in the dark room and looked confusedly at his surroundings. The sound of a woman's voice made him turn around. Ruby red eyes, the only thing not transparent, stared at a pair of shocked dark emerald eyes. "Lily…" it said in a voice that sounded so far away.

Lily's eyes widen even more and stopped her retreating steps. "How?" she wondered softly, unable to get her voice. "Are you a ghost?"

The spectre image of the Dark Lord stared at his transparent hands in wonderment before answering. "I don't think so, for I am not dead."

"Not dead?! I saw you take the Killing Curse! How can you not be bloody dead?" cried Lily, seemingly forgetting that she was talking to a transparent, floating Dark Lord.

A ghost of chuckle reverberated throughout the room and the Dark Lord floated towards Lily. "Even when in a plight, you can't help but argue can you love?"

"I saw you die, Tom. What do you expect me to think?" said Lily.

"I'd expected you think that I would never do anything as _Gryffindorish_ as to take on the Killing Curse head on without a plan," replied the Dark Lord, a smirk on his transparent face and floated towards the woman who was fidgeting slightly.

Lily wisely chose to keep quiet and look slightly bit chastised. The Dark Lord laughed at her uneasiness.

"I am not one of the living, as you can see," said the Dark Lord. "Nor am I one of dead as well; I've been merely ripped off from my body. A spirit, if you may."

"But how?" asked Lily once more, reaching out her hand to try and touch the Dark Lord. But instead of feeling nothing like she'd expected, her hand felt something cold yet alive.

"What I am about to tell you is strictly to remain a secret within the Circle." said Voldemort in answer to Lily's questioning look.

"Tom, this place is restricted to all but the Circle lest they want to die a most pain filled death." replied Lily, getting a tad bit impatient with the way the Dark Lord was answering her.

"We can never be too careful," came his reply." Have you ever heard of the term Horcuxes?"

"Not in its plural form, no." said Lily after awhile. "Don't tell me…"

"Yes." Lord Voldemort said, pleased that he did not have to explain it in detail.

"How many?" inquired Lily, her eyes narrowing at the spirit before her.

"Seven."

Lily seem to consider this for awhile before walking away from the Dark Lord to move towards a shelf in the far corner of the room she had yet to search. A large, untitled, leather bound book was what she grabbed from top shelving. "Does Dumbledore know?"

"What's with the twenty questions?" asked Voldemort who had followed her to the other side of the room.

"You ripped your soul seven times, Tom. I have the right to know why you did it. Especially after what you put me through, I could have cursed my own brother for Salazar's sake." said Lily.

"Very well, since I'd greatly appreciate it if all my Death Eaters are able to remain functional when I return," Voldemort replied.

"Pray tell me how you plan to _return._"

"There is no need for you to take that tone with me Evans. Firstly, if none of you knew of my plans, do you think the old man would know of them as well? Second, there is a ritual that allows me to be reunited with my body." said Voldemort.

"And what is this ritual?" asked Lily, getting used to the idea that the Dark Lord was indeed still alive albeit without a body.

"Therein lies our problem," If a Dark Lord could speak sheepishly, then that would be how it sounded.

"I knew it," Lily raised her hands in defeat and walked away from the tomes of books that were in the shelves. "How do you plan to strike terror within the core of wizards if you can't even touch them?"

Annoyance flashed on the Dark Lord's face at those words and Lily immediately regretted letting loose her quick tongue. "I will get my hands on that ritual and you will lead the Dark in my stead."

Lily was about to open her mouth to argue with the Dark Lord's orders when said lord floated directly in front of her. Even in this form the Dark Lord still looked menacing.

"You will take up my seat and be known as Lady Moraga. You're time has come."

"But Tom, it is yours. Not mine. " started Lily, seeking the Dark Lord's eye.

"Things wouldn't have happened this way had I not thought you ready to take up the mantle of leading the Dark." said the spirit of Lord Voldemort.

"Yes, but –" Lily began only to silenced by the Dark Lord's glare.

"I have told you from the very beginning that you're going to be leading the Dark alongside me and this little hitch in our plans will not hinder us from reaching our goals, Lily. You will take up the role of Lady Moraga, like you were meant to be, and step up to be the Dark Lady, ruler of Darkness. Do not let the others see this moment of weakness of yours or else they will take down what we have built from the inside out. Do you understand?"

It took her a moment to get back the collected composure she was known to possess and to rid herself of the emotions she had felt earlier, before finally managing to look at the Dark Lord straight in the face. Taking a much needed deep breath, she spoke. "Yes, My Lord. I will lead the Dark in your stead until the day you return. I shall be your chosen equal, Dark Lady Moraga, Queen of Darkness and to make sure that in your absence, our foes will not bring down all that we have worked for."

The Dark Lord gaze softened as he watched the fire return once more into the eyes of the fiery woman who had captured his heart all those year ago. Not one for sentimentality, especially not when he was weakened like this, Lord Voldemort drifted away from the red haired woman.

"I _will_ return." The Dark Lord Voldemort said one last time before disappearing once more into the shadow world.

Lily watched as the essence of the Dark Lord disappeared before her eyes, knowing that not all was lost after all. And if the Dark Lord said he would return, then he will return. May it be days, weeks, months or even years; they would wait for the return of the Dark Lord.

"Dobby!" she cried and a house-elf with bright orange eyes appeared before her. "I want you to inform the Circle to meet me in the audience chamber at once."

The house-elf bowed at her before disappearing in a loud pop.

It was now the beginning of a new era of darkness; the time had come for Dark Lady Moraga to bring up the helm.

_Dark Lady Moraga._ Lily smirked. It did have a nice ring to it. Perhaps this wouldn't be as bad as she thought it would.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** I'm so very sorry for the delay of this chapter, the editing took longer than I thought. To make it up to those you voted and waited for this chapter, I will post the next chapter next week, all I need is your support for the story and your lovely reviews...

Also, check out my other stories namely Dark Secrets and To Love and be Loved if you like my writings and if you like a strong and a very OOC Harry and Severus and basically everyone else. But the characters are still the property of J.K. Rowling, only the plots and some OC's are mine to claim.

To those who voted for TLBL in the polls, don't worry. The story will not be abandoned but will only take lomger to update. Please stick with it as I will do my best to make it an excellent read.

Now on with the story...!

**Disclaimer:** Not mine... how many times must I say it for you to stop pestering me?!

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Chapter 2

"Do you not spy for the Order?" asked a strained voice.

"My Lady, I am loyal to and to you alone," replied a man who was lying so low on the floor that his black robes blended perfectly with the dark floor.

"_CRUCIO!" _exclaimed the woman seated on a throne-like-chair, causing the man on the floor to writhe and scream in pain. The others gathered in the large chamber watched in disgust as the condemned man failed to even show his worth by resisting the urge to beg like a common wizard. After a full minute, the curse was let up, leaving the man a crumpled heap on the floor, whimpering like a sick child.

"If there is one thing I hate the most, it's having to repeat myself over and over again, Rogers. Either you tell me honestly where your loyalties lie or pay the consequences for your betrayal."

"My Lady … I beg you … have mercy …." the man called Rogers cried, groping the robes of the woman that led like an iron vice.

"I am merciful, Rogers, many Death Eaters can attest to that. But unfortunately for you, my mercy will get you nowhere." However before the Dark Lady could even cast the curse that would end the pathetic man's life, the man was already screaming. Initially, she thought the man was being over eager about being tortured that it almost made her want to laugh but then blood slowly started seeping out from every possible opening found on the man and she knew immediately what was happening; for there was only one child in England who could take pleasure in seeing blood, tons and tons of blood. But, except for a small few, the other Death Eaters didn't see to realize that whatever was happening was not the doing of their Lady and shuddered in fear.

The man's tortured screams escalated to exceedingly new heights as every single one of his blood vessels were forced to burst. It lasted for five minutes and soon the only signs that that showed that someone had just been tortured were the stillness that wrapped everyone and the pool of blood that was now flowing freely everywhere.

The Dark Lady stood up from her throne-like-chair and surveyed the dead man's body below her. "You've had your fun, Erebus, now show yourself!" she said curtly, lifting her gaze to search the room for the said child. Shuffling could be heard from behind the ranks of Death Eaters and a little boy with shoulder length black hair appeared from the shadows. Surprised gasps escaped from the Death Eaters' mouth and bowed as one to the only known son of the Dark Lord Voldemort and the Dark Lady Moraga; the sole heir to the Dark throne.

A devious smile was playing on young Erebus' face as he walked through the sea of black clad wizards; all of whom cleared a path for him in the middle, much like Moses in the Red Sea to give him quick passage.

"Good morning, mother." said Erebus, playing up his innocent voice once he was through the crowd and before the Inner Circle, who where all giving him amused looks, and his mother, who looked none too pleased with him. Even though he was still young, barely eleven, he had long ago proved his abilities to all at the tender age of three. Unlike every other witch and wizard at that age, whose first outward experience with accidental magic was limited to that of levitation or conjuring, Erebus did something unheard of. One of the lower ranking Death Eaters had been tasked to look after him while his mother and the Inner Circle went on a raid. But unfortunately for the man, Erebus did not find him making ridiculous faces funny at all and the next he knew, the man was screaming in pain, all the bones in his arms having been dissolved. From then on, no one but the Inner Circle had the nerve to even get close to the violent child.

"Would you care to explain this, child?" the Dark Lady asked pointedly.

"I was bored …" Erebus shrugged.

The Death Eaters shuddered collectively at the thought that this petite boy, who barely reached up to their waist, found casting a Blood Seeping Curses entertaining. The Dark Lady closed her eyes and sighed heavily before addressing her son.

"What have I told you about interrupting meetings?"

"Unless it was something of importance, you told me not to," replied Erebus, overstepping the dead body to get closer to where his mother and a few of the Inner Circle stood.

"You better have something important, Erebus, you just lost me a Death Eater," said the Dark Lady, turning to the dead body in disgust.

"Come on, mother; don't tell me you were planning on keeping him alive. You do know that he's been passing information on our manor's location to the Order for months. Plus the number of times I've seen him searching for escape routes when he thinks no one is looking in the last hour alone should tell us more than enough about where his loyalties lie," said Erebus.

"That is beside the point, Erebus. And why in Salazar's name did you think a Blood Seeping Curse was necessary to deal with him?" asked the Dark Lady, impressed that her son was able to notice those small details when she herself only noticed them close to the end though now was not the time to impress that upon her son.

Erebus merely shrugged at the question and rummaged his cloak for the object he had been meaning to give to his mother. Upon seeing exactly what it was Erebus was holding out, the Dark Lady's eyes darkened and dismissed all but the two Death Eaters that stood just behind her.

"When did you receive this?" Lily asked, lowering the hood that concealed her face whenever she stood before the Death Eaters.

"This morning after breakfast. You told me to come see you _straight away_ once I've gotten it," replied Erebus, putting emphasize on some of his words.

The Dark Lady frowned at her son's tone but decided not comment further since he had actually done nothing she hadn't specifically told him not to. "Have you read it?" she asked instead.

"No," said Erebus with a shake of his head. "I thought you might want to be there when I do."

"Very well, let's hear what it says."

Erebus tore open the red seal that protected the contents of the envelope and pulled out a bunch of parchments that contained the same spidery emerald writing found on the front of the envelope. Choosing the parchment that was on top of the others, Erebus began to read aloud.

_HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDY_

_Headmaster: Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore_

_(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc.,_

_Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_

_Dear Mr. E. Riddle,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry__. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment._

_Term begins on the 1__st__ of September. We await your owl by no later than the 31__st__ of July._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Minerva McGonagall_

_Deputy Headmistress_

There was complete silence after Erebus had finished reading the letter. A part of him was excited at the prospect of attending one of the most prestigious wizarding schools in Britain but the idea of being surrounded by hormonal teenagers who had little or no control over their abilities was enough to make him reconsider his decision.

After a while, the Dark Lady took the letter from her son's hands and turned to speak to the man beside her. "What do you think, Severus? Does Dumbledore know who he is?"

At being addressed, the man removed his green mask to reveal a face with sharp features, dark cold eyes that had the tendency to make others who didn't know him think of dark winding tunnels, and dark long hair that reached all the way to his shoulder. Severus took the letter that the Dark Lady was handling to him and perused it one more time before giving his two Knuts on the matter.

"All Hogwarts letters are written by a magical quill that is kept hidden deep within the castle. Not even the Headmaster or the Minister can access it without proper authorization. That in itself is extremely hard to get since only the castle itself can give out such authorization. I believe the last time Hogwarts allowed its Headmaster entrance to what is rumoured to be called the _Room of Calling_ was two hundred years ago and that was because the Headmaster's brain was addled with in a duel and kept forgetting the names of all his students."

The others in the room sniggered at the thought of the unfortunate old man.

"Then it is safe to say that the old man doesn't really know who's who during the sorting ceremony in their first year?" asked the Dark Lady Moraga, moving away from the dais and into a more secluded part of the chamber, her two followers trailing her.

"The old coot only appears to be omniscient when he mostly suffers from annoyingly good luck," said Severus with a sneer that elicited a hearty laugh from the other two in the hollowed chamber.

"Don't worry, Lily, he'll be fine. Severus would be there to look after him. Dumbledore won't have a chance to get his hands on Erebus," said a man with long blonde hair.

"Lucius it is not Dumbledore I worry about, it is Erebus. He is so much like Tom that I fear what he'll get up to when situations arise," said Lily in barely a whisper so as her son, who was absentmindedly playing with a loose thread on his robes, wouldn't hear them.

Lucius took this time to look at the little boy he loved as his own son and understood exactly what Lily had been trying to say. "He's a very special child, Lils, he'll be the one to sway this whole thing around," he said, watching as the said boy seemed to be at ease being so close with a dead body and was even pulling faces at it.

Erebus, who had now been waiting patiently for the adults for half an hour, knew better than to interrupt them when they were having a serious discussion. But since this time it was about him, he was slightly annoyed that they were not considering his opinion at all on the matter. Tired of having to stand and stare at Rogers' mangled body while the others discussed about what would happen to him, Erebus made his way to the centre of the chamber where two large chairs were placed atop a raised platform. The one on the right was the seat his mother had sat on prior to his unannounced entrance while the one on the left, the larger of the two, had been vacant for sometime now.

He made his way to the vacant seat and due to his unnaturally small stature, was immediately engulfed by the large piece of furniture. Sitting in the throne-like-chair, he saw the dozen smaller seats that surrounded the other two in a semi-circle; the seats of the Inner Circle. From the many stories both his Godfather and Uncle Luc had told him, it had been years since the Inner-Circle of power was complete; the last time being during the reign of his father, the Dark Lord Voldemort.

It was during these times that he wished his father could be here to tell him what to do, but he knew the man was always searching for ways to get his body back and if he did come back to the manor, he would only return for days at a time. The last time his father was home was during his 10th birthday and he had told him then that his searches were coming to an end and that before he, Erebus, could finish at Hogwarts, he would have returned to his body. The thought of seeing his father in his true form once again made him smile, and even though he was raised the way he was raised, he was still like any other boy who craved for his father's affection. His Godfather and many uncles have done wonderfully over the years, being the father figure he lacked, but he still missed the kind of pride and affection only the Dark Lord could voice out whenever he saw him.

He didn't know for how long he sat there, waiting for the adults to come to a decision when he felt a hand gently prodding him.

"Mm …" he mumbled.

"Wake up, child," said a soft voice.

Erebus' eyes fluttered open to find that he had somehow fallen asleep on the Dark Lord's chair and his mother had pulled him onto her lap. "When did I fall asleep?" he asked, moving out of his mother's lap and onto the remaining space on the large chair his mother had not occupied.

"Probably when you thought that Tom's cold hard chair was comfortable enough to snuggle up in." Erebus turned to find both his godfather and uncle smirking at him.

"So, Reby, are we finally going to ask the elves to change your soft comfortable bed into one of these?" his godfather asked, tapping his wand on another similar chair. "That's the tenth time this month."

Erebus blushed and cringed inwardly at the horrible nickname his many uncles had bestowed on him when he was only a baby, and unfortunately for him, the name had stuck. Luckily for him though, his mother chose that moment to speak, therefore saving him from his godfather's ribbing.

"Alright, Sev, no one's going to ask the elves to change anyone's bed." said Lily, though she too was trying not to laugh at the childish expression her son was giving his godfather. Rarely did she see her son allow himself to act like a normal boy his age and, when he did let his guard down during those rare moments, she would cherish them like nothing else.

Erebus decided to change the topic of conversation hoping to bring an end to his uncles' ridiculous smirks. "So have you come to a decision?"

The question had the desired effect and the adults all turned to each other as if making a final confirmation. Then finally his mother spoke. "Yes."

"And?" prompted Erebus, looking in turn at his uncles and mother.

"We've decide to let you go to Hogwarts," his mother answered.

Erebus' spirits rose but not as much as he'd expected and it must have showed on his face because all three of the adults were now watching him in concern.

"Do you want to go to Hogwarts, Reby?" asked Lily, scooting closer to her son.

Erebus watched as all the adults' attention focused on him and he considered his answer. In one hand, he had never been as far as two days without being at least with his mother or uncles. From a very early age, his mother had taken it onto herself to make sure her son knew everything there was to learn about wizarding cultures in other countries and therefore took him on all of her excursions. It was only very recently that he opted to stay in the manor whenever she left for somewhere he'd been before. But even during those occasions, at least one of his uncles would be left behind to care for him and teach him. To say that Erebus Riddle was well travelled was putting it mildly, very mildly.

But on the other hand, since he'd rarely been away from his family for long periods of time, he wanted to take this opportunity to prove himself capable of taking care of himself. He didn't want to only appear before the Death Eaters as a privileged kid with an aptitude for curses and spells but someone worthy to carry on the name of his father. He also had thirst for the vast amount of knowledge he'd be able to get at Hogwarts; taught by a professor or not.

"I would like to go to Hogwarts, if you allow it mother," said Erebus slowly.

"There is no need to be so formal, child. We have already decided to let you go. But remember to listen to your Uncle Severus and make sure I don't receive an owl from him telling me you've gotten yourself into trouble," said Lily looking straight at her beloved son.

"Yes, mum," smiled Erebus cheekily.

"Now, brat, why don't you go find that cousin of yours and tell him the good news?" Lily pushed her son lightly of the chair to get him on his feet.

Erebus uttered a quick thank you to all the adults and gave them all a brief hug before dashing out of the chamber without making it look like he was running out. Once the heavy wooden doors that lead to the audience chamber closed behind him, Erebus was greeted by a tirade of voices.

"What took you so long? We've been waiting here for almost an hour. Did they allow you to go? Did they?" blurted a young boy his age wearing a black neck shirt and pants over a bottle green robe. The boy was a near copy of his father down to his sleek platinum blonde hair.

"Breathe, Draco," said Erebus, smirking.

"Shut up. Now will you tell us already? Anna here wanted to barge through the doors if by the next minute you haven't come out yet!" exclaimed an annoyed Draco, slapping the edge of Erebus' shoulder.

"Hey," cried a smaller girl who was standing beside Draco. "I didn't say I was going to barge in. Just to take a peek."

"I'll believe that when I want to, Anna," replied Draco causing the girl to glare balefully at him.

Annabel Lestrange was the only child and daughter of Bellatrix and Rodolphus Lestrange; both Inner Circle Death Eaters. She was a year younger than the two boys but that didn't prevent her from hanging out with them. In fact the boys take great care not to get her riled up too often since she was an exact replica of her mother, both in temperament and in attitude. She, like Erebus and Draco, enjoyed casting curses that were hardly permitted by the Ministry every now and then on Muggles that their parents brought in for stress relief.

"So did they allow you to attend Hogwarts?" asked Anna, turning to Erebus who was trying not to laugh at her cousin's fearful expression.

"Yes. They did. I can go to Hogwarts," said Erebus, smiling from ear to ear.

Draco and Anna both erupted into wild cheers, all dignity forgotten, making the portraits stare incredulously.

"Oh Erebus, we're going to have so much fun at Hogwarts. Those idiotic Gryffindors won't know what hit them," said Draco, swinging his arm to clasp Erebus around the shoulder.

"Don't forget about me," piped Anna.

"Of course we won't, Anna, torturing won't be as fun without you. We'll make sure to reserve the best curses for when you join us next year, won't we, Ray?" offered Erebus to the pouting child.

"Definitely, cousin," agreed Draco, trying to get back on his cousin's good graces.

The three children of Darkness walked jauntily down the halls, arm in arm, discussing the mayhem they would cause upon the Griffins in the seven years they would be in the school. But of course methods of discretion were a must, for after all, if they couldn't put the blame on anyone other than themselves for the troubles they would cause; they wouldn't be able to call themselves Slytherins now would they?

_**s**__**SsSsSsSsSsSsSsSs**_

He was a having a peculiar dream about a man with long white hair when he felt the hangings on his bed being drawn open and his blanket was pulled away from him in one swift movement.

"Argh …" he groaned sleepily, shielding his eyes from the rays of sunshine that assaulted his face once the hangings on his bed were drawn.

"Wake up, Reby. We're heading off to Diagon Alley this morning to purchase your school supplies," said a familiar voice.

"Sev …'M still sle'py." Erebus managed to mumble as he pulled the pillow from under him and put it on his head.

"You wouldn't be this sleepy if you'd listened to us last night and stopped playing Hang the Muggle before the crack of dawn." Erebus felt one side of his bed sag downwards and knew that the man was now sitting in front of him. All the answer he could give the man was yet another sleepy groan. But at that precise moment, if he hadn't know that there was no old woman in the manor, he would have sworn that he'd just heard one scream shrilly from the other side of the hall.

"I believe one unlucky kid just had a good dosing of ice water poured on him," said Severus barely able to contain the mirth that was threatening to break through his face at the sight of his godson bolting out of bed and looking frantically around the room.

"I'm up! I'm up!" exclaimed Erebus, glaring at his godfather, who already had his wand pointed above his head.

"Spoil sport," he heard his godfather mutter under his breath as he stowed his wand back into his robes. "Alright, get up. Breakfast is ready and we'll be leaving at ten."

Severus left the room leaving behind a sulking godson muttering about greasy godfathers who revelled in torturing helpless, innocent godsons. A grouchy Erebus arrived in the dinning room for breakfast already dressed in midnight blue robes over a pair of black pants and dark blue polo shirt, to find his cousin drenched from head to foot, staring daggers at his father who was innocently sipping a cup of coffee while reading the morning's Prophet. Sitting beside the dripping Draco, Erebus mumbled a tired good morning and waited until the elves brought him his plate. Once his plate appeared before him, he picked on it with the gusto of a dying man, all the while trying not to join in Draco's dark mutterings.

After awhile he turned to look up who else was in the room. Both his Uncle Severus and Uncle Lucius were there conversing among themselves as well as his Uncle Stan. But when he turned to look at the other end of the table where his mother usually sat, he found his mother's seat empty and that her meal was half eaten. That must mean that she had just been called for an urgent meeting; about what, he had hoped wasn't too much of a problem.

By the time they'd all finished their breakfast and in Draco's case, changed into drier articles of clothing, his mother had yet to make an appearance.

"Uncle Sev, where's mum?" asked Erebus as his godfather helped him put on a light weight cloak over his robes since it was still summer after all.

"She's gone off for a meeting and told us to go on without her. She also said she would meet as at the Leaky Cauldron once her business was done," said Severus, straightening out his own attire after he'd finished with his godson's.

"Alright, are we all ready?" asked Lucius who was holding his son's hand and his snake topped cane in another.

Severus took Erebus' hand firmly in his and making sure that his wand was still in his robe pocket before saying, "Let's go." and all four of them Apparated to a secluded area in Diagon Alley. As soon as they got out of the Apparition point and into the main street, the charismatic group headed first towards the giant marble building that housed the wizarding bank, Gringotts.

As they were making their way up the steps of the bank, Erebus felt the hand holding him grip his more tightly and looked up to see that his godfather had a look of worry in his eyes, masked by the mask of indifference he portrayed in public. Erebus looked around to see what had caused his godfather to look so worried and he couldn't believe he had missed the sight of a gigantic man walking down the steps of Gringotts.

The large man caught sight of his godfather and his face that would have looked friendly and approachable had it not been for his size, hardened and his beady black eyes looked warily at them.

"Good mornin' ter yeh, Professor Snape," greeted the large man, though the smile on his face didn't reach all the way to his eyes.

"Good morning to you too, Hagrid." replied Severus.

"I didn't know yeh had any children professor." The giant called Hagrid pointed at Erebus.

"He is my godson, Hagrid. We are off to buy his supplies for the new term," said Severus though it was obvious he didn't like the small talk the other man was making.

The two Malfoys who had dawdled behind earlier after meeting a familiar face now reached where they were, and Erebus was able to make out his uncle's low silky voice.

"My my, Hagrid. What a surprise meeting you here of all places," droned the senior Malfoy eliciting a furious look from the large man.

"Malfoy," growled Hagrid, unconsciously patting a lump on his moleskin coat. Severus' eyes narrowed at the action but decided to put it all on the back of his mind and end their meeting now before Lucius could do something unnecessary to the half-giant.

"Why y –"

"It was nice meeting you, Hagrid. See you when term starts," said Severus, cutting whatever it was Lucius had planned on saying.

Hagrid's gaze reverted back to the professor and inclined his head slightly. "See yah, Professor." With that Hagrid left the four of them.

Erebus turned to look at his cousin to silently ask what the whole scene had been about but all Draco did was give him a negative shrug of the shoulder. Inside the Grand Hall of Gringotts, Lucius led them to a counter in the furthest part of the room. The goblin that was situated in this part of the building was one that was familiar to all of them. Many would say that goblins would never willingly help protect a wizarding family and their fortunes, let alone work with them. But this particular goblin and many more in the higher echelons had long ago sworn their services to his mother and father, the Lady and Lord's of the Dark. If the Light ever got wind that their stupid missions to the Goblin Kingdom to create peace treaties between the two magical races was all a façade, mad chaos would ensue.

"May the fortunes gold and silver be with you, Master Gargarok," greeted Lucius in a half body bow.

"Ah, Lord Lucius, Lord Severus, Young Lord Draco and Young Lord Erebus, it is a pleasure seeing you again and may your endeavours be eternally fruitful," replied the goblin in the same manner.

After half an hour, the quartet found themselves outside the bank and under the summer heat, their money bags considerably heavier than before.

"Now, can we trust to leave the two of you alone to get your own supplies?" asked Lucius.

"Yes, sir," came the twin reply of the boys.

"Very well, we'll meet up again in Ollivander's in two hours then we'll all head for the Leaky Cauldron for lunch," said Severus.

Erebus and Draco's first stop in getting their supplies was Madam Malkin's where they met their friend and fellow future Slytherin, Blaise Zabini together with Pansy Parkinson and Millicent Bulstrode. After their fittings, which turned out to be quite uneventful except for the part where one of the assistants had accidentally prickled Erebus on the arm and unsurprisingly, the assistant left bawling loudly minutes later, leaving a satisfied smirk on Erebus' face, the two of them headed for the Apothecary.

Being the godson of a renowned Potions Master and the actual son of two seasoned brewers, Erebus took to Potions, like most of the things he knew, like a fish in water. He was no where near the level of brewing his godfather and father possessed but he could definitely brew potions many would consider impossible for a child his age to brew.

Draco on the other hand preferred the analytical arts of Arithmancy and Transfiguration. His brewing abilities were in par with that of Erebus', having been tutored in the same art privately together with his cousins, but he wasn't as passionate and tended to brew only when needed. So even though both boys had a talent for the subject, the stench of the Apothecary was still too overwhelming for them to stay any longer than necessary for them to buy their Potion ingredients.

With regards to the pet rule Hogwarts imposed on all its students, Erebus chose to purchase a charcoal black raven he had named Jafar to be brought alongside with his familiar, a boa constrictor he had received from his parents on his seventh birthday. Back then it had been a considerable size of two and a half feet, but now it was about half way through its full length of twelve feet. Draco on the other hand chose a fierce looking brown speckled eagle owl that amazingly seemed to get along with Erebus' smaller raven.

After purchasing the necessary supplies for their respective new pets, the two boys headed to Flourish and Blotts, their packages magically shrunken in their pockets. Inside the bookstore, Erebus caught sight of a bushy haired girl making her way to the counter, a stack of books piled up in her arms.

"That girl could make a run for your money, Reby, the way she reads books," quipped Draco, following Erebus' line of sight.

"Shut it, Ray. You're no better than me," said Erebus, elbowing the blonde in the gut.

"Oomph …" gasped Draco as Erebus' elbow made direct contact with his stomach. "Was that really necessary?" He was rubbing his middle as he followed the dark haired boy through the rows of books.

"Whining doesn't become you, Draco." piped Erebus. He glared at the bushy haired girl, who was watching them, as he went through the shop.

By the end of the two hours allotted to them, their pockets were bulging with loads of shrunken packages and, much to Draco's pleasure, Erebus did end up walking out of the bookstore laden with twice the number of books they were supposed to buy.

"We were about to send a search party for the two of you," said Severus with a frown when they met up with them outside Ollivander's.

"Erebus here decided that today would be a good day to buy half of the books in the store," said Draco, dodging the hand his face would have received from the dark haired boy.

"Well, let's get this over with, we'll be meeting Lily for lunch in half an hour," said Lucius, heading to open the shop door causing tiny bells to chime somewhere in the cluttered shop.

"Why can't we just buy our wands at Harper's in Knockturn Alley? His creations are better suited to us," said Erebus in a whisper, hating the cheery look the shop held despite its cluttered state.

"Your mother decided that you would first use legal wands while at Hogwarts. She didn't want Dumbledore getting suspicious of the both of you. But when the two of you come of age, we'll take you to get new wands, that way your second wands won't register in the Ministry," replied Severus to the boy's query.

Erebus thought about it and found that he understood the logic behind his mother's decision but that didn't mean he liked the idea. They were all brought back to their surroundings by the presence of someone watching them from within the shadows of the small room. A quick movement to his left made Erebus turn towards that direction and a smirk slowly played on his lips.

"Mr. Ollivander, either you stop these pointless charades or we'll go elsewhere for our wands," he said causing everyone to look suspiciously at the direction he had spoken to. Moments later, and old man with a crown of wiry white hair appeared with a deep frown on his face. He was wearing a pair of slightly worn out robes and he was staring straight at Erebus.

"In all my years of selling wands, no one has ever figured out where to look for me. The surprise I give them is part of the experience in getting their first wands," said Mr. Ollivander, not wavering in his gaze of the boy's red rimmed green eyes.

"I'm not known for following the norm, Mr. Ollivander," came Erebus' calm reply.

Mr. Ollivander felt something unnatural as the youth stared back at him, and his frown intensified before taking his eyes of the unusual boy to see who else had come with him.

"Ah, Mr. Snape. Ebony. Twelve inches. Three drops of dragon blood and a Basilisk scale core. Slender yet sturdy, exceptional at duels," said the old man, animated at the sight of a former customer. Severus nodded stiffly and the old man turned next to the senior Malfoy.

"Mr. Malfoy, I believe yours is Chestnut, eleven inches. Dragon heartstrings and a scale from a Horntail core, both from the same species."

"And it has served me well all these years. But now it is their turn," said Lucius silkily, gesturing at the two boys.

"Yes, yes. Very well, gentlemen, which one is your wand arm?" He pulled out a long measuring tape with silver markings from his pocket. Draco held out his right arm and although Erebus was ambidextrous, he only held out his right hand. They'd all been taught earlier on that the less the enemy knew of them, the better it was. Now, he really had no idea were old Ollivander stood in the war but it was better safe than sorry.

The annoying tape measure flew all around them, measuring their outstretched arms in every possible angle. When the tape measure started measuring the length of their noses, Mr. Ollivander called out to it and it crumpled in a heap on the floor. With a wave of his wand, several long thin boxes started pulling themselves off the shelves and landing themselves neatly in a pile on top of a spindly stool that stood before them.

"Right then Mr …" Mr. Ollivander looked questioningly at Erebus for the first time.

"Riddle. Erebus Riddle," said the boy, a ghost of a smile on his face.

Mr. Ollivander's eyes widened. "Well … er … Mr. Riddle, why don't you give this a try?" He pulled out the box on top of the pile and offered Erebus a brownish coloured wand.

Erebus looked incredulously at his godfather, who just gave him a nod, urging him to give it a try, before taking the offered wand. But the second his hand took hold of the wooden wand, Mr. Ollivander snatched it back at once and shook his head, leaving the two boys to stare confusedly at each other.

"Mr. Malfoy, why don't you give this a try?" said Mr. Ollivander, handing a new wand to the blonde boy. But just as with Erebus, before he could even try it, Ollivander snatched it from him as well. This process lasted for quite a long time, each time the wand being snatched away before either boys could even test them.

Erebus also noticed that the longer the wand selection got, the more animated the older man got. He turned around to see that both his uncles were getting a little impatient, his Uncle Lucius checking his pocket watch with a frown on his face. The pile of discarded wands was nearly twice as tall as the stool in which they were placed when Mr. Ollivander left them for the back room, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Did it take you guys this long to get your wands?" asked Erebus in frustration once Mr. Ollivander was well out of earshots.

"I believe what your Grandfather Abraxas did was he brought along a bottle of wine and some paperwork to finish while he waited for me; apparently lengthy wand selections run in the family," said Lucius

"You couldn't have told us that before hand?" cried Draco. "And if you knew we were going to take this long, why didn't you bring anything like grandfather did?"

"Who said we didn't? I happen to have brought along with me a bottle of Madam Rosmerta's finest mulled mead. It's not very grand, but you can't deny its wonderful taste," said Lucius in a matter-of-fact tone, pulling out two shot glasses and a bottle of clear brownish liquid. Draco and Erebus stared incredulously at the two men who were supposed to be their role models but before either of them could comment on their behaviour, Mr. Ollivander came back from the back room carrying yet more boxes that looked as if they had been in storage for far too long.

Finally after what seemed like the hundredth wand, Erebus found his match in an oak, twelve inches, Basilisk fang and phoenix feather. Mr. Ollivander looked slightly disturbed at the revelation of his wand but before Erebus could make out what had caused the reaction, Mr. Ollivander had shrugged it off and was continuing to service the younger Malfoy. Draco took slightly bit longer but in the end he got a hawthorn, ten inches, Shortsnout scale and unicorn hair.

They paid a total of fourteen galleons for their purchases and headed straight for the secret archway that would lead them to the Leaky Cauldron for a well deserved meal. The Leaky Cauldron was jammed packed with Hogwarts students and their families, either on their way back from the Alley or are about to head to the Alley.

Lucius caught sight of a family of red heads crowded in one corner and couldn't help but sneer at how pathetic they all looked. He had never thought it possible for a woman to actually bear that many children in quick successions until he met the Weasleys. They really were a disgrace to Purebloods everywhere; no sense of dignity at all.

Tom the barman led them upstairs, away from the noisy main room, and into a more secluded private parlour where a woman with short brown hair dressed in an elegant dark red robe was waiting. Even though the woman looked differently, Erebus would never mistake the look in her eyes for anyone other than his mother. He freed himself from his godfather's hand and ran towards his mother's open arms.

"We missed you at breakfast this morning," said Erebus, giving his mother a hug. The others walked into the room in a more sedated manner, though Draco did march up to his aunt and gave her a kiss on the cheeks.

"I'm sorry, Reby. There were urgent matters I had to attend to," said Lily, lifting her son onto her lap.

"I'm presuming that since you made it here in good time that your business went well," said Severus seating himself on a chair across mother and son.

"You can say that, Sev. But let's not talk about that now, its lunch and I'm positive these two are exceptionally hungry after their wand selection."

"You knew too and you didn't tell us," sulked Erebus. "I think my hand is still sore from the number of times Mr. Ollivander snatched those wands from my hand."

"I too didn't know back then that our family had such a reputation for being extremely fickle when it comes to choosing a wand so don't get yourselves into a pickle over it and we'll get both yours and Draco's hands checked over when we get home," Lily said quelling her son.

Erebus opted to stay quiet after that; he really did miss his mother this morning and he wasn't about to ruin their afternoon by asking her why she made them purchase a wand in Diagon Alley instead of a wand in Knockturn Alley.

"Luc, where is Cissa? I'd have thought she would accompany you for the trip," asked Lily after surveying who else was in the room.

"She had to attend a charity lunch on behalf of the family," replied Lucius.

Lunch was a very light affair, with a few insults thrown here and there about a certain Muggle lover and his followers, and soon all five of them had Apparated back to the Manor.

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**A/N:** What did you think? Like my portrayal of the characters so far? And for those who recognize the plot, it was inspired by Tiro's "A Different Life". I suggest all of you to go read it. It's wonderful. And although this story is inspired by Tiro's work, the plot is different and I've made it my own.

You know what to do now, read and review and 'til next post...

**_dan4eva_**


	3. Chapter 3

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**A/N:**Here it is guys, the next installment of the Erebus Riddle series. Here you get to see a couple of important characters and answers as to where Hermione's alliance is. There is also an OC here that will be important to Erebus' and the Riddle's lives. And for those who wanted to see a scene where Erebus is being Erebus, all evil and dark, read on. The beginning of the chapters starts off with a nice mother and son scene.

I just want to tell my readers beforehand that Erebus had both parents growing up. The Dark Lord is still just a spirit, but he occasionally pops in to see his family, so Erebus has a close bond with both parents and the rest of his family. They're what I'd like to think as a family with an evil, dark disposition. As for Erebus' not so evil nickname, read my earlier statements, they are a close family with an evil, dark disposition. But know that Erebus does not allow everyone to call him Reby, he is after all the Dark heir.

**Disclaimer:** read the first chapter.

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**Chapter 3**

The rest of the summer holidays passed by incredibly quickly after their trip to Diagon Alley, and soon it was the eve of their departure for Hogwarts. Erebus was sitting on his bed reading a relatively thin book that was propped open on his lap when the door to his room opened. Looking up, he saw his mother's smiling face as she entered the room.

"Evening, mum," greeted Erebus, placing his book on his bedside table. Lily walked towards her son and sat herself on the side of the bed.

"Have you packed everything you'll need for school?" she asked.

"Almost," replied Erebus. Lily gazed lovingly at her son's face before running her hand through his smooth dark locks.

"It's your last night at home," said Lily softly.

"I will be back for the holidays, mum. I would never miss Aunt Cissa's Christmas dinners for anything," said Erebus, liking the affectionate touch he was getting, though he was not about to say that out loud.

"Oh, I don't doubt you'll be home for the holidays, Reby, because if you don't, I'll make sure to get one of the Thestrals to drag you all the way back home." His mother spoke with a surprisingly straight face that for a moment Erebus thought that she would actually come through with her threat but that was before he saw the unmistakable devious smirk on his mother's face.

"You're evil!" exclaimed Erebus.

"That's a given, child," said Lily with a smile. "It's what I do for a living."

"But it doesn't mean you have to be even more so. I'm your only son!" The childish pout on Erebus' face was such a rare occurrence that Lily couldn't help but laugh out loud, causing her son to cross his arms indignantly.

"Oh, child," Lily grabbed her son and pulled him in a tight embrace. "I'm going to miss you so much. Who else would be here to help me instil fear amongst the lower ranks?"

Erebus chuckled, "I think you and Aunt Bella would do just fine and I'll miss you too, mum, even if it's only your sermons."

"Brat!" cried Lily, releasing her hold on her son to swat him playfully on the rear. Erebus took refuge under his bedcovers while his mother mercilessly tickled him.

"Mum …" Erebus shrieked shamelessly, wriggling out of his tangled sheets as he tried to escape his mother's tickle attacks. "Stop … please … aah!"

However before Erebus could even retaliate against his mother, a sharp knock on the door brought them back to their senses and out of their joyous positions. A smile was still on Lily's face when the door opened at her command and Rabastan Lestrange appeared.

"My Lady, the Goblin High King, Bargerok, seeks an audience with My Lady and the Circle," informed the younger Lestrange, bowing before mother and son, trying to hide the smile at having seen the lighter, more parental side of their leader.

"Very well, notify the others. I will be there shortly," Lily addressed the man. Lestrange bowed once more to the Dark Lady and her son before leaving the room to ensure that the others in the Circle were informed of the meeting.

"Now go to bed, young one," said Lily, turning to her son who was still grinning impishly. "You wouldn't want to be late on your first day now, would you?"

"But why do I get the feeling that that's what you really want, mum?" asked Erebus, going under the covers and pulling it all the way up to his chin, his eyes glinting playfully.

"What ever gave you that idea?" said Lily, unnecessarily arranging the pillows that were under her son's head.

"You're fussing," was the mumbled answer she got from her son who still had most of his head under the sheets, his eyes shining with mirth. Lily stared at her son's face, brows raised before coming up with her very own _oh-so-brilliant_ comeback.

"I'm your mother," she said in a manner as if that settled the matter.

"But you're still fussing," said Erebus, eyeing his mother's hands which were now smoothing the sheets on the foot of his bed. Lily let go of the sheets as if they were made of corrosive substances and eyed her son threateningly as he let out a loud chuckle.

"And you're my most annoying son," she snapped good-naturedly at the boy who now pulled the sheets over his whole head.

"I'm you're only son," she heard her son say amongst his laughter.

"That is why it's so hard letting you go," she said softly, pulling down the sheet that covered her son's face. Her son stared at her with his entrancing gaze; the red swirling together with the green.

"Mum …" Erebus began, seeing the look in his mother's eyes.

"Shush, let an old woman pine about her baby." She sat herself closer to him so that she could pull him up to her lap.

"You're not old … yet," said Erebus, earning himself a flick in the ear. Lily ran her fingers through his hair once more, untangling the knots that had come together in their earlier tumbles on the bed.

"Don't you have a meeting to attend to? It's unlike you to keep the High King waiting," said Erebus after awhile, his eyes getting drowsy, snuggling deeper into the folds of his mother's arms.

"It's not like I can go down to meet them with you in my lap now, can I?" said Lily only to find that her son had finally succumbed to sleep in her lap, curled up in a tight ball. Lily smiled at how small and innocent her son looked liked curled up like this in her lap.

Slowly lifting him in her arms, Erebus stirred but did not wake; Lily adjusted her son on his bed. Once the slumbering boy was off her lap and tucked tightly in bed, she bent down to give him a kiss on the forehead before departing to meet the Circle. She just hoped that both Lucius and Severus were able to excuse to the Goblin High King of her tardiness.

_**sSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSs**_

The next day found the youngest occupants of Riddle Manor bustling back and forth into their respective rooms, making sure that they had brought everything they could bring, within reason of course, with them to the castle. So far both Erebus and Draco had enlarged their trunks to make them occupy five times their regular capacity.

It was with Erebus sitting on his trunk, trying to make everything fit, that Lily walked into when she went to check up on her son and nephew.

"Please tell me you didn't put your entire bedroom in that trunk," she said in exasperation, seeing the bulging trunk that was fit to burst open if her son wasn't using his –_bottom_, to clamp it shut.

"Of course not!" cried Erebus, not bothering to look up at his mother but concentrating on trying to close his trunk.

Lily rolled her eyes and pulled out her wand form her pocket. Taking pity on her son, she cast a spell that shrank the contents of the trunk, making the lid snap back in its place. Erebus looked up at his mother with something akin to annoyance flashed on his face. "You couldn't have told me that spell earlier?"

"It's not a curse that would interest you," said Lily

"Still. I might find a use for it," replied the youth, his arms crossed on his chest. "Say shrinking a certain part of the male ana–"

"Ask Sev about it once you reach school," said Lily, not bothering to hear what plans his son had for the simple charm. "Are you ready for Hogwarts?" She had moved from the doorway to sit beside her son on his trunk.

It took Erebus a minute to answer his mother's simple question. "I guess."

"You guess?" said Lily in surprise, watching her son's face intently.

"I heard myself the first time, mum, you didn't have to repeat it," grumbled Erebus.

"Manners, young man," scoffed his mother. "But just last month you were very eager to go. What changed your mind?"

"Mudbloods," growled Erebus. "You know I can't stand them."

"I see," said Lily, understanding dawning on her. "Then you know what the solution to that is."

Erebus looked expectantly up at his mother. He knew that even though she had pretended to be a mudblood throughout her years at Hogwarts, his mother hated them and Muggles with a passion.

"Do not associate yourself with them. You are a Slytherin and never in the history of that house had it accepted a wizard of purely Muggle descent into its lair. You will do well to remember that," said Lily.

"But what if I don't get sorted into Slytherin?" Erebus had his head bowed down, not daring to look at his mother's eyes.

Lily sighed, knowing at last what was worrying her son so. "Look at me," she said lifting up his chin so that they were looking at each other. "I would be proud of you no matter what house that battered old hat puts you in."

"And don't even ask about your father," she said upon seeing the unasked question in her son's eyes. "I know that he would be proud of you as well. Trust me on that."

"Even if the hat puts me in Gryffindor or Hufflepuff?" asked Erebus, the fear of rejection set firm in his eyes. Lily blanched inwardly at the thought of Lord Voldemort's only son and heir being in Gryffindor. But then again she had been a Gryffindor herself; a wolf in sheep's clothing, she thought deviously.

Placing a comforting arm around her son's shoulder, she pulled him into a one armed hug. "Child, do not worry yourself about this. In your very core is the heart and spirit of a true Slytherin, you wouldn't be anywhere else. But if I am mistaken, which rarely occurs, mind you –" that got a small smile from her son "then Ravenclaw will be your best bet. You are so much like myself when I was younger, I too had great thirst for knowledge."

"But you were placed in Gryffindor," said Erebus. He'd always wondered how that had been possible since his mother was never the rash and idiotically brave sort.

"Alas, I was young and had yet to meet your father. I had wanted to belong. But once I met your father, he quickly told me that I was the most cunning of all Slytherins since I was able to convince the hat to put me in Gryffindor. I was what he fondly called a snake in the lion's den."

Erebus smiled at that, all his earlier fears that his family would reject him if he were to be placed in anywhere but Slytherin vanishing at once.

"Here, I want to give you this." Lily pulled out a chain that had a small crystal orb suspended inside an overlapping silver and gold band.

"What's that?" asked Erebus, looking at the chain in fascination.

"It's a Contact Orb. I had the crystal orb charmed so that we can communicate with each other without your classmates freaking out at the sight of the Dark Lady. I have the other pair right here." She pulled out an identical crystal orb that hung around her neck.

"All you have to do is hold the crystal orb on the palm of your hand and say the password before the name of person you wish to speak with." Erebus turned around to allow his mother to place the necklace around his neck.

"What's the password?" asked Erebus, staring at his crystal orb.

"It is up to you. Just say your complete name and your chosen password over the crystal then say _Secretus__;_the crystal will do the rest. Though I advice you to change the password every month. You can't help but be too careful."

Erebus lunged himself in his mother's arms. "Thank you."

"Come now, Camelia has prepared us a scrumptious breakfast. I think she wants to make sure that you don't forget her cooking once you enter the castle and be subjected to food prepared by house-elves." Lily lifted her son up from the trunk and placed him comfortable on her right hip, ignoring the startled protest that came from the child. But as soon as they were out of the room, Erebus had made himself comfortable in his mother's arms and had his head burrowed in her sweet smelling robes.

Like what his mother said, their house keeper, a pureblood squib called Camelia, had prepared a breakfast fit for all of his parents' Death Eaters and handed both him and Draco a bag of their favourite snacks to munch on during the train ride.

Currently, the entourage consisting of his glamoured mother and the Malfoys were making their way through the crowd of Muggles as they made their way to the hidden platform. Erebus sneered at all the pathetic Muggles that dared to even stare at him and was pleased when they would scurry off in the opposite direction when he glared back at them. His mother was doing no better either. It had been a long time since she'd last re-entered the Muggle World after graduating from Hogwarts, focusing more on the events that transpired in their own world. Her face was set into a deep scowl and he could feel her hands itching to pull out her wand that was under the dark green robes she had chosen to wear for the day, and use it to blast every single Muggle into oblivion.

"I can't believe I'd spent my youth in the company of these creatures," she mumbled angrily under her breath causing his Uncle Luc to smile sheepishly at her.

They reached the barrier that separated Platform 93/4 from the Muggles only to find a mass of redheads clustered by the entrance.

"Weasleys," sneered his Uncle Luc at the general direction of the large family. His mother held out her hand to stop their approach and waited for the clan of redheads to pass through the barrier before going there themselves. This action caused the older blonde to frown and for his Aunt Cissa to smirk in amusement. Once they were through to the barrier and as far away from the offending family as possible, his Uncle Luc grabbed their trunks and offered to place them in the train and to find them a compartment to sit in.

"Now, we want you to behave yourselves," said Lily while Narcissa stood beside her looking just as commanding as the disguised Dark Lady.

"Yes ma'am," chorused the two boys.

"And remember what we've told you," Narcissa admonished.

"Yes. Never associate with Gryffindors or anyone else who are unworthy."

"Other than that," frowned Lily, rolling her eyes at the two boys

"I'm sorry if I don't remember, mum, you told us many things," said Erebus but upon receiving a disapproving glare from his mother, snapped out of it. "Alright. Make sure that Dumbledore doesn't find out that Draco and I are related and if questioned about our family, I'd say that we come from a long line of British purebloods but have spent most of our lives in France due to the war. And if any troubles come, we'll go straight to Uncle Sev. Got it, mum."

"Just making sure," replied Lily and made some last minute adjustment to Erebus' robes and hair. "You take care and be careful, alright? Both of you."

"Yes, mum."

"Yes, Aunt."

Narcissa bent down to the level of her son and nephew and gave them both a farewell hug and a kiss. "Make sure you owl us once you get there. And if Draco forgets, you remind him to owl. Okay, Erebus?"

Draco crossed his arms at his mother while Erebus smirked at his cousin's expense. "Will do, Aunt Cissa."

Erebus left Draco to his mother and turned instead back to his own mother. "I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too, child." said Lily. "Do you mind if I send Nagini to check on you sometime in the coming months?"

"No. It's okay, as long as she doesn't eat all of the students."

"I'll be sure to tell her." Lily pulled her son briefly into a hug and kissed the top of his head. "I love you."

"I love you too," Erebus replied though muffled by his mother's robes.

"Expect a visit sometime before Christmas," Lily whispered softly to her son's ear. But before the boy could even react, she'd finally released him, winked at him and ushered him towards the door where Lucius was patiently waiting with Draco.

"Go now before Draco pulls all his hair off in boredom." Erebus tried not to laugh out loud at the image and hopped on the train, waving at his family down on the platform.

Lily and the Malfoys waved at the boys until the train turned into the corner and into the horizon.

"Come on, father saved us a compartment down here." Draco literally dragged an annoyed looking Erebus into an empty compartment near the end of the train.

Erebus immediately flopped down the nearest seat and raised his legs so that they blocked the blonde boy's path. Draco rolled his eyes at the raven haired boy's antics; trust the boy to annoy him back. He simply stepped over the raised pair of legs and sat on the seat opposite his pleased looking cousin.

Not a few minutes into their journey, their door slid open and a girl with wavy red hair appeared; a sleek black cat in her arm and her trunk in another. "D'you mind if I crash here with you guys? It seems like your compartment is the only one that isn't occupied by a bunch of rabid dogs." There was an uneasy tone in her voice like she was unsure whether she should even be here but her twinkling blue eyes were set and determined. Draco raised an aristocratically elegant brow at her but Erebus stared at her in interest, sitting in a more dignified manner at once.

"Never seen you before. Who are you?" drawled Draco.

"Amanda Michaels." said the girl.

"Michaels … Michaels … I don't believe I've ever heard of that name before. Are you foreign?" asked Draco.

"No. I'm … I grew up in a Muggle orphanage. I never knew my parents," replied the girl.

"So you're a _mudblood_ then," sneered Draco, staring at her in disgust. Erebus too was disappointed to know that the girl had less than desirable parentage; she had interested him and he was looking forward to get to know her. But it just goes to show that even if you're the son of the two darkest witch and wizard, you really can't have everything.

Annoyance flashed in the girl's face at the tone of Draco's voice. "I said I grew up in a Muggle orphanage. I never said I was born to filthy Muggles." In her irritation at his cousin, her cat clawed at her robes and Erebus caught sight of a ring that hung around her neck in a silver chain. He only saw it for awhile before it was covered once again by her robes but he knew he'd seen it before; he just couldn't place his tongue on it.

"Excuse me, Michaels," said Erebus, getting on his feet and stopping whatever it was his cousin was about to say. "We have no problem with you sitting with us but could you please wait here for awhile?" Erebus didn't wait for answer and slid the door shut once more, casting a few wandless spells so that they couldn't be overheard.

"What is wrong with you, Reby?" Draco began at once, "You actually want to socialize with the likes of her?"

"Did you see the ring around her neck?" asked Erebus, ignoring the incredulous looks he was getting from the blonde.

"No. Why would I even want to look at what's on her neck?" said Draco, looking at Erebus as if he'd lost his mind. "If you weren't listening to what she said, she told us that she grew up in a Muggle orphanage."

"I heard what she said, Ray, but I'm also positive I saw a signet ring hanging in a chain around her neck."

"A signet ring? But, Reby, only –"

"Pureblood families carry them to show who the head of the family is and who the rightful heir is. I know. You and I both carry one and if she has one, then the least she could be is a half-blood," said Erebus.

"Did you see what family she comes from?" asked Draco

"That's the problem, I know I've seen it before but I just can't remember where I've seen it. But by the looks of the design, it's an old one."

Draco whistled at that. Over the years, many old wizarding families had taken into hiding themselves so as not to get too involved in the war. Many of the families who had gone missing were mostly neutral in the war but there were also those who preferred to disappear so that no one would know of their involvement in the war. If the girl standing outside their door was indeed the heir to one of those missing families, then it would be an advantage for them, pureblood or not.

Erebus must have seen the understanding show on his cousin's face because he finally turned to the door to open it. The girl was surprisingly passive for someone who'd just had a door suddenly shut before her and was staring at Erebus with her brow raised as if asking them whether she was good enough to sit with them.

"Er … really sorry about that. Please pardon us for being such arses. We're usually not like this," said Erebus.

_Did I just say er? It's not even a word!_

"I could have just left and searched for a better compartment where the occupants are more than happy to welcome me, I don't know why I had to make a fool of myself and stand out here," snapped Michaels.

"Yes, we're sorry about that. Aren't we, Draco?" said Erebus, turning to his cousin who was still not very happy since they didn't really know of the girl's parentage.

"Yes, I'm sorry. Calling you a mudblood was uncalled for." Draco graced them all with a smile worthy of any Malfoy but Erebus knew better than to assume he really meant it. However that would do for now until they figure out exactly who the girl was before them.

Once all of them were back inside the compartment, Draco having decided to sit beside the dark haired boy, Erebus began the introduction to break the silence that clung to the air the moment he'd slid the door shut.

Erebus held out his hand. "I'm Erebus by the way. Erebus Riddle. And my friend here is Draco Malfoy."

Draco also held out his hand but wasn't at all angry with Erebus for speaking on his behalf since he knew he wouldn't be able to say anything civil to the girl without angering both Erebus and the girl.

"Amanda Michaels," repeated the girl taking both of the boys' hands. "So are you both purebloods?"

What came out from the girl's mouth came as a complete surprise to the two boys who'd been raised in the ways of the old and had to stare at the girl before Erebus finally realized they'd been asked a question.

"Yes." was Erebus' simply answer.

The girl – Amanda – seem to lighten up at his answer, petting the cat she'd not let go off. "Well, that makes things much easier for me, then."

"What do you mean?" intoned Draco, finally taking interest in the girl.

"Well if you'd been Muggleborns, or as I think you prefer to call them, _mudbloods_, then you'd have no idea about the wizarding world and I'd be stuck the whole way listening to you guys babble about how surprised you were when you first received your letter."

Erebus couldn't help but laugh at the look on Draco's face at being compared to a mudblood. He was liking this girl more and more, though not in that sense of course.

"But then if you'd been half-bloods, you'd know all about the wizarding world already. But there was also the chance that you were exposed more in the cultures of the Muggle world, therefore you wouldn't know that much about the wizarding world compared to purebloods and your knowledge about it would be limited to what your magical parent knows of or is willing to tell you."

"Why are you so interested in purebloods anyway when you said earlier you grew up in a Muggle orphanage?" said Draco.

"That's just it. Since I grew up in an orphanage, I never knew my parents. Plus I'm pretty sure I wasn't born to a Muggle family. Do you know how repulsive the Muggle children are in the orphanage? I can barely tolerate them," said Amanda.

"How did you know you didn't come from a Muggle family?" asked Erebus, eager to know whether she really knew of her ancestry.

Amanda fidgeted uncomfortable in her seat; her right hand leaving her cat's to grab hold of the ring Erebus knew hung around her neck.

"Well … you see, I was abandoned on the doorsteps of the orphanage when I was only an infant. According to the governess in the orphanage, the only thing they found with me to indicate who I was was this ring." She slowly pulled out a silver chain from beneath her robes and both Draco and Erebus sucked in their breaths, leaning in closer to get a good look at the chain.

"May I?" asked Erebus, indicating the golden ring hanging from her neck.

Amanda unclasped the chain around her neck and slid the ring out, offering it to Erebus' outstretched hand.

"My first bout of accidental magic happened when I was three. One of the older kids was being mean and the next thing I knew, he was across the room supporting a pretty large bump on his head. Fortunately one of the volunteers saw it happen and told me she had a cousin who goes to a magic school every fall. But since I was only an orphan, I couldn't afford any books about magic except the ones that the volunteer would pass to me that her cousin was no longer using."

If Draco was still doubtful whether the girl before them was of wizarding descent, then the revelation that she had perform magic at such a young age completely changed his mind. Muggleborns only showed their talents a year or so before they received their first Hogwarts letter, that's why they had such little grasp of magic.

Erebus and Draco looked at the ring and saw that it was just like the ones they kept at home. A signet ring could not be worn unless the heir was already of age or told to wear otherwise, and since both he and Draco were still eleven and that their fathers were still alive, a powerful presence in Erebus' case, their rings were kept at home under heavy enchantments. The only difference in the rings was the family crest carved on the stone of the ring. Erebus' had two intertwined snakes in the shape of an "S" carved onto a piece of emerald while the Malfoy signet ring had a proud eagle carved onto a piece of onyx.

The one Amanda had had a fearsome black leopard in mid pounce carved on a piece of crystal. Its intricate design left no question that it was indeed a signet ring, a signet ring of an old pureblood family at that. But the question remained – which family does it proclaim? There weren't many pureblood families left in Wizarding Britain but since the crest of a family is rarely revealed to the public except for those who are prominent in society, it was very hard to determine which of the families the ring belonged to.

"Well it's definitely a signet ring," said Draco quietly, looking somewhat relieved at the proof that Amanda was at least of wizarding descent.

Erebus nodded, looking at his cousin then at Amanda who was looking expectantly at them. "But to which family does it belong to? I doubt Michaels is really your last name."

Amanda shook her head, "The people in the orphanage came up with my name and I hate it, it's so common and – _weak_. I was hoping that since both of you are purebloods, you could tell me more about the ring. It's the only thing I have to tell me why I was left at the orphanage."

"I'm sorry, Amanda; I really can't recall the crest. I have this book about wizarding genealogy but I left it a home," said Erebus apologetically, handing back the ring to her. "But you're definitely not a Muggleborn if you have that ring. Only rightful family heirs can carry them."

"Well that's good. I'd really hate it if the ring meant nothing at all. I'd rather be a half-blood from a recluse wizarding family than a filthy Muggleborn."

Erebus smiled knowingly at the girl. She'd obviously had a bad experience with the Muggles in her orphanage to resent them this much. She'd definitely fit into their group wonderfully; that is if she'd be placed in Slytherin, however Erebus was certain that Gryffindor would never accept a witch with a hatred for Muggles.

"But don't you know anyone who could help me identify the ring?" asked Amanda.

"Well, we could try asking Severus for help," offered Draco, turning to his cousin.

"That's sounds good," agreed Erebus. "He should know something to help us determine the ring's origins."

"Wait, can this Severus person really be trusted?"

"Yes. He's a close family friend and don't worry about him spreading your secret, he loathes people who can't keep their mouth shut," said Erebus, reassuring the girl.

"Alright then, I can't wait to get to the castle. I've read quite a few books about the wizarding world and the Dark Arts fascinate me," said Amanda with enthusiasm.

_Ah, it seems that the girl might perhaps be sorted into Slytherin after all. _

"You might be disappointed to know that Hogwarts has zero tolerance for students who study and practice the Dark Arts," said Erebus.

"Then I'll just make sure they don't find out, now won't I? And by the sound of it, the two of you are not happy with the school either."

"Our fathers were all ready to send us to Dumstrang. At least there, they take the Dark Arts seriously, unlike the Defence crap Hogwarts offers. Plus they rarely allow _mudbloods_ entrance," said Draco.

"But Aunt Cissa refuse to send us that far away when the best wizarding school is close by." said Erebus.

"What about your mum?" asked Amanda.

"My mum? She despises the current Headmaster like everyone else in my family but we're rather close and she doesn't want to see me going too far as well, though she wouldn't let you catch her say that."

"Why not? It's okay for a mum to worry about her son."

Draco nearly choked on a pack of chips Camelia gave them at the thought of the Dark Lady worrying in front of the public. Erebus glared at the blonde's lack of discretion, making him shallow his food rather loudly.

"Let's just say, my mum doesn't like being in front of people she doesn't trust," said Erebus, turning his attention back to Amanda.

The rest of the train ride passed pleasantly in Erebus' standards: Draco was finally getting along with Amanda and Amanda herself was proving to be much more of a snake than she was willing to show. However their peaceful journey was ruined when two ignorant first years barged into their compartment looking for something called "_Tremor_".

"Hey!" Draco screamed indignantly when their compartment opened to reveal a girl with bushy brown hair, the same one they'd seen in Flourish and Blotts, accompanied by a chubby boy looking as if he really didn't want to be there in the first place.

The bushy haired girl ignored the irritated looking faces that the three occupants of the compartment were giving her and said in a shrilly voice, "Have any of you seen Trevor? This boy, Neville, lost him." She pointed to the timid boy behind her.

"What's a Tremor?" asked Amanda.

"_Trevor_. It's Neville's pet frog. He's lost him," said the girl pointedly.

"Well …" Erebus spoke up, staring at the bossy girl; it seemed that she recognized him as well since her eyes widened at the sight of him. "If Trevor had had the misfortune to come into our compartment, I must say that you've got to find yourself a new pet."

"And why is that?" said the girl, crossing her arms.

_Couldn't her voice get any higher?_ thought Erebus, causing him to smirk viciously at her. He opened up his robes to show all of them a huge boa constrictor coiled up on his chest, its head rising at once when it felt the presence of others in the compartment. The boy behind the bushy haired girl visibly paled at the sight of a large snake and the girl squeaked, stepping backwards at once.

Erebus smiled at their expressions and pulled his pet out into the open. "Because Shiva here would have eaten it already and I'm not responsible to any of the _food_ that had the misfortune to come across her when she's not eaten in days."

_Masssster, I ssssmell ssssstrangersssss._The snake hissed. Erebus resisted the urge to reply to his snake and blowing their secrets all together.

The boy, Neville, if he'd heard correctly, looked as if he would faint right there and was tugging at the girls sleeves rather roughly. The girl, for her part pulled up a brave front and stepped forward again, coming into their compartment.

"Students are not allowed to bring snakes to school," she cried in her own bossy little way.

"And who are you to tell us what we can or cannot bring?" snapped Draco, getting tired of girl's voice, she was already attracting the attention of the others in the train; their head's poking out of their compartment to see what the commotion was about.

"Hermione Granger and I'm gonna find a prefect and report you," she said in her very, _very _annoying voice.

This time it was Amanda's turn to get vexed by the girl, "Now, Draco, that's a true _mudblood_ if I ever saw one. As I said earlier, they just can't help but be annoyingly annoying about everything." She didn't even bother to look at the said girl and just looked at Draco.

Draco sneered at the girl and graced her with a look that showed you just how superiors Malfoys were.

"Nice meeting you," Erebus said nonchalantly, it was taking all his self control to not just spell her out of their compartment for standing so close to him. Instead he glared at her as intimidating as he could until she finally scrurried out and he slid the door shut, this time casting an Imperturbable Charm on their door.

After that little distraction, no one else disturbed their compartment and it suited them just fine. It was now dark and the train had come to a stop outside Hogsmeade Station. Thinking that this was now a good time to ask the question that had been bugging her earlier, Amanda turned to Erebus as they trekked down towards the boats.

"Erebus, about your snake …" she was rather nervous that the boy would not be pleased at being questioned about his pet again.

"Don't worry, Amanda, she's perfectly harmless unless she thinks that you're a threat. She doesn't eat anything other than the mice I feed her, though she would occasionally go hunting by herself, so I would make sure you that you don't offend her then or else you might just find yourself buying a new pet. And she can be very feisty when she wants to be," said Erebus with a smile, feeling his new friend's uneasiness.

"Well, I don't mind snakes; I think they're very beautiful, especially the way their scales shimmer when they move. But aren't you scared that that Granger girl will report you?"

"Let her. I've done nothing wrong."

Seeing that her new found friend wasn't going to elaborate further, she decided to drop the subject. The three of them boarded a small boat together with a dark skinned boy and they heard the giant of a man she now knew was called Hagrid shout out loud and all the boats jerked to life, slowly transporting eager looking first years across the glassy surface of the Great Lake and towards their first look of the castle.

Amanda was awed at the sight of the magnificent castle with its turrets of towers and the torches that illuminated it against the night sky. She could hear hundreds of students around her gasped, the same thoughts running through all of their minds.

"Having to attend Dumbledore's school is worth seeing the castle at night," she heard Erebus whispering softly behind her and she couldn't help but smile in agreement. This was where she truly belonged.

* * *

**A/N:** A nice long chappie, read and review.

P.S. there is a poll in my profile about WB decision to shift the t\release date of HBP from this year to nest yera. It's not relevant to the story but i just wanted to hear your opinion.

til next post

**_dan4eva_**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** I apologize for the long absence. School life has just been so busy, I rarely found the time to write and post stories. You have no idea how many projects my professors give and all to be due within a day of each other. Sometimes I just want to skip my classes but then that would really hurt my chances of getting an exemption from my final exams. You see here in my university, if you've achieved a GPA (general point average) of 3.75 or higher in your preliminary and midterm exams, you get an exemption in the final exam. And as I'm a candidate for two exemptions, I need to maintain my grades so that they won't drop.

But I'll make sure that once term break comes (which is a month away, HURRAY!!), I will diligently finish the chapters and post them once I am able to. I have such great plans for all of my stories; I just hope that you won't be put off by my irregular posting habits. I know we all hate authors who take weeks, even months to update, so I'll try my best to follow a more regular updating pattern.

Alright, now I want to thank those who reviewed the previous chapter, you've made Erebus Riddle a much loved story even though it's only in its early chapters. And I'm happy you found my portrayal of Lily interesting, I was fearful that a Dark Lily won't be received all that well since there are very few stories that depict Lily as an alive major character who is very much in line with the Dark Arts. Just for that I appreciate all your comments and praises; you've made one author extremely happy. More Lily and Erebus interaction will come in the future chapters as well as a few scenes with our favourite Dark Lord.

I really love the Erebus, Draco interaction in this story. I just think that they would make a much better pair of best friends than Ron and Harry. (No offence to the canon, but as you can clearly guess, I'm a Slytherin sympathizer…)

Now, on with the story.

**Disclaimer:** One day…. Maybe…. Perhaps…. But as of the present moment, Harry Potter and any characters you recognize are the genius creation of the talented J.K.Rowling.

* * *

**Chapter 4**

"If I'd known we'd be hiking up a mountain, I wouldn't have bothered wearing my new shoes!" drawled Draco, not bothering to keep his voice down. Hagrid glared back at their immediate location while a red headed boy mumbled something about spoiled brats.

Draco ignored them both and continued with his complaints. Erebus knew better than to interrupt his cousin when he was bored and in one of his moods. To be honest, he was feeling like acting up together with his cousin as well. He wasn't opposed to sweating things out, his mother and uncles had made sure of that, having drilled him in the arts of sword fighting and duelling at the age of five. But it was entirely pointless to have them take a different, more exhausting path than the older years just because they were first years. However the small voice of sense in his head told him to bear with it for a little longer, therefore he just quietly sniggered at the petty complaints his dear cousin was happily voicing out to the annoyance of the giant man.

Amanda merely shook her head at Draco's childish complaints and followed the group towards the entrance.

The giant man, Hagrid, led them to a pair of oaken front doors and right before the doorframe was a strict looking witch in dark green robes wearing a pair of square rimmed glasses. To Erebus she looked like a person you wouldn't want to cross and he was fine with that.

"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall, ma'am."

"Thank you, Hagrid." bowed Professor McGonagall before facing a bunch of nervous looking first years. She led them down the hall until they reached a pair of yet another large set of doors where the sounds of thousands of voices were talking at once. However, instead of leading them through the hall, she pointed them to an empty chamber just off the side of the hall. It was very much cramped inside and one of the students even had the gall to step on his foot. It took every ounce of Erebus' patience not to lash out on the stupid boy.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," the strict looking professor began. "The start of term feast will begin shortly. But before you can join your fellow classmates, you must first be sorted into your houses. While you are in here, your house will be like your family. Your triumphs will earn you points while any rule breaking will make you lose points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup."

"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin." Erebus and Draco both grinned at the mention of the last house. "Each of which has its own unique history. I hope each of you will bring credit to whichever house you get sorted into. The Sorting Ceremony will be done shortly in front of the whole school; I suggest you use this time to freshen up."

"I shall return when we are ready for you," with that, she left them through another door that led outside the small chamber.

Erebus sighed in exasperation at having to wait in the crowded room longer than what was necessary and leaned against the wall, his arms crossed. All around him students broke into ecstatic ramblings and Erebus couldn't help but over hear a conversation between the same red haired boy from when they were outside and the clumsy boy Erebus now recognized as the Longbottom kid from earlier in the train.

"I hope they don't test us or something. I don't think I can levitate anything yet. "

"I don't know about testing, but my brother Fred said something about wrestling a troll."

"A troll?!"

Erebus heard Draco snigger on his right, "Weasleys, can they be any dafter? If Father ever gets wind that Dumbledore's mentality is finally failing, much more allowing his students to wrestle a troll, he'd have the old man fired in a heartbeat."

Erebus never managed to reply to his friend's words because it was at that precise moment that a few of the students, he could guess that most of them were half-bloods or less, were screaming. He turned to see what all the commotion was about when he came face to face with a fat translucent man in what appeared to be in a monk's smock.

"Ah, the new students have arrived. I hope you kids get sorted into my House," said the ghost.

"And what House, may I ask, did you belong to?" asked Amanda, leaning in front of him to get a better view of the ghost.

"My girl, I once belonged to the House of Hufflepuff. It is ..." Erebus tuned out the rest of the ghost's words. He would much rather wrestle Weasley's troll than be sorted into Hufflepuff and he knew Draco shared the same sentiments, having snorted disdainfully at the ghost.

McGonagall returned not long after the ghosts entered the chamber and the chatters soon died out.

"We're ready for you now. Follow me please," she said sharply, gesturing the ones close to her to form a line. Erebus got in a line in front of Draco while Amanda went after him. In a single-file, the students shuffled out of the chamber and into a much larger, grander hall. It was much bigger than the ballroom they had in the Manor. Although he preferred the décor in their Manor, he couldn't really say that the Great Hall was anything but great. There were five long tables in the hall, two on either side of him where the students sat and one in front of it all, facing the students, was the Head Table where the professors sat.

The Transfiguration professor gestured the students to stop in front of a tattered old hat. It opened its mouth – if you could call a tear in the fabric a mouth – and began to sing. Erebus figured that the day the hat said something sensible would be the day his mother would give Dumbledore a hug and decided to just tune it out. His eyes were still on the Head Table; looking at the wrinkled Headmaster to be precise.

_Did he really think those twinkling blue eyes of his fooled anybody? _

He roamed further down the table and landed on faces he wasn't expecting to see on the Hogwarts faculty or on any faculty at that. James Potter and Remus Lupin were seated two seats to the right of the Headmaster and were having a lively conversation with a tiny wizard.

_Merlin__,__ what was Dumbledore thinking hiring an unstable man and a werewolf?_

He shifted his gaze away from them and felt a concerned presence in his head. He immediately recognized it and sought after the man. Severus caught his eye and raised an elegant eyebrow. Erebus replied by jerking his head to the direction of the two offending Marauders. Severus looked to where he was pointing and rolled his eyes then offered him a reassuring smile. Erebus smiled back at him and turned his attention back to the sorting; somehow he knew Severus would be favouring Slytherins even more this year.

"Now when I call up your name, you will step up here and put on the hat to be sorted."

Erebus distinctively heard Longbottom sigh in relief and he knew it would be extremely embarrassing if he were to suddenly laugh out loud for no apparent reason.

_Merlin, what had the new generations of purebloods come to? _

"Abbott, Hannah!"

A blonde girl in pigtails emerged from the line and walked up to the stool to try on the hat. It took a few minutes but the hat finally screamed its decision.

"_HUFFLEPUFF!_"

The girl grinned happily and joined the table clapping loudly to Erebus' right. The professor called up more names and one by one the students were sorted into their Houses. Susan Bones become the second Hufflepuff of the night and was followed by Terry Boots who became a Ravenclaw. Lavender Brown, a giggly girl with a butterfly ornament on her hair became the first Gryffindor to loud cheers from said House. Millicent Bulstrode, a rather quiet girl he'd come to know through the parties his Aunt Cissa has held over the years, became a Slytherin.

"Granger, Hermione!"

Erebus turned around to find the bushy haired girl mumbling incoherently to herself. She walked stiffly up towards the hat and sat as primly as she could with an old hat on her head.

"_GRYFFINDOR!_"

The rambunctious House cheered just as loudly as they had for the Brown girl making him cringe slightly at the din they were making. He'd have thought she would end up in Ravenclaw, especially with the way she kept whispering information that he knew were taken word for word from _Hogwarts: A History_, having read the book himself quite a few times, to anyone who had the misfortune to come near her.

The Longbottom kid ended up in Gryffindor as well. How the bundle of nerves ever got into the House known for being full of nerve was beyond him. It seemed that Longbottom was surprised as well since he dashed off to his table without extricating the hat from his head. He looked up at the Head Table to find both Dumbledore and Potter grinning proudly, complete with annoying eyes that twinkled brighter than a star in the night sky, as Longbottom lumbered to the Gryffindor table. If he didn't know he would be making a fool of himself, he would have gagged at their idiotic expressions. Honestly, if the wizarding world was placing their hope on a shy, witless boy, it was no wonder his mother was able to quickly gather more followers.

He didn't know how much longer he could last standing there until he finally snapped and whipped his wand at the direction of the raucous table that was the Gryffindors' when the professor finally called out 'Malfoy, Draco!'

Erebus nodded to the blonde. "Good luck."

Draco walked over to the hat and before it could even touch his head, it had screamed.

"_SLYTHERIN!_"

"Looks like you just lost yourself five Galleons." Amanda whispered softly to his ear, as Draco strutted towards the cheering Slytherin table, a satisfied smirk on his face. He and Draco had had a bet in the train earlier that the blonde would be sorted into their House quicker than anyone else.

"I still see a crowd of un-sorted students, Amanda," he whispered back to the girl.

"You're placing your hopes on a steed way passed its prime," he heard her say quietly. Even Erebus knew that, but it didn't hurt to be a little optimistic. He'd been planning to use his Galleons to purchase an object he'd seen in Knockturn Alley when his mother wasn't looking the last time they'd gone to the sinister alley.

"Michaels, Amanda!"

Amanda walked forward and heard Erebus say 'Good luck'. She sat down on the stool like the many others before her and waited until the hat made its decision.

'_Who do we have here?_'

'_Er… you are talking in my head are you not?_'

'_Yes, my dear._'

'_Good, but can we do this in another day? I'd rather not sit here and be watched like a specimen under a microscope.'_ She was sure she heard laughter coming from her head that was connected to the hat.

'_Child, it does not work that way. I must first determine what your attributes are before placing you in your House. For some it is easy, but for others not so._'

She felt a the hat probing in her head and resigned herself to wait until the hat had finished what ever it was searching for.

'_Oh dear._'

'_Why? What is it?_'

'_Michaels is not your real name, child_'

'_Then do you know __who__ I am?_'

'_That I do, child. That I do. But I'm afraid I cannot tell that to you. You have to figure it out yourself. Your parents gambled a lot by keeping your identity but I believe they left you a clue to your parentage. I suggest you use your information well. You and your friends are what will determine the outcome of this war._'

'_But how about the question of who I really am?_' asked Amanda, a tad bit annoyed at the hat's words.

'_You will know__,__ child. And now I know just where to put you._'

Before Amanda could ask the hat more question, it had shouted _"SLYTHERIN!" _She removed the hat and stared at it curiously before handing it back to Professor McGonagall. Draco scooted to the side to give her a place to sit and now both of them waited impatiently for the last person in their group to join them.

The sorting went on. Theodore Nott and Pansy Parkinson, both friends from his childhood were made Slytherin as well and soon his name was called.

"R-Riddle, Erebus!"

Silence washed over the Head Table as all eyes turned to him, curiosity and apprehension apparent on most of the staff members. Severus sneered at his colleges' expressions and watched as his godson made his way over to the sorting hat.

'_The Prince of Darkness_', the hat said in his head after awhile. '_I've been expecting you._'

Erebus nearly panicked at the thought that something close to Dumbledore knowing exactly who he was. '_If you even think about breathing a word about it…_'

'_Do not worry yourself__,__ young Riddle. Believe it or not, I happen to like both of your parents. They were both very unique and am sad to say that because of certain events in their past, they had to adapt in the only ways they were given. I'm not saying that what they became is bad nor am I saying it is good. But they are both great wizards in their own right, now where to put you?_'

'_Could you please stop blabbering? I'd had to hike up a hill to get here, crammed into a room not meant for more than twenty students, forced to be stared at by these bunch of idiots, and now I am tired, not to mention extremely hungry_.'

'_Impatient are we? __Your__ parents were too. Very well then, you're very loyal to your family and friends though other than that, you don't really care unless you gain something from it. Therefore Hufflepuff is out of the question._'

'_Took you that long to figure it out?_'

'_You are brave though the same thing applies about those not being your family and friends. Your bravery is very different but bravery nonetheless. But I have a feeling I won't be able to sort anymore students after this if I put you in Gryffindor._'

'_Too right you are, my dear old_ _hat._'

'_You are very intelligent but Ravenclaw is not really your calling. There is only one house for you ... SLYTHERIN!_'

Erebus took the hat of his head and surveyed the Head Table. Severus was looking at him impassively but his eyes told him differently, the man was smiling at him proudly. Plus, if you didn't know the man, you would miss the slight upturn in his lips. However the rest of the table were staring at him warily. Potter was glaring at him while the werewolf had an air of uncertainty about him. He walked towards the Slytherin table to warm greetings, as warm as Slytherins were capable of showing in public, and sat beside Daphne Greengrass, who immediately scooted closer to him. He looked back up at the professors and found that Dumbledore was staring at him as if trying to read his mind. He consciously strengthened his Occlumency shields before turning to face his friends. It came as to no surprise to him to find Draco's hand thrust in front of him.

"You know for someone who belongs to one of the wealthiest pureblood families, you're very eager to get every Galleon you can off of me," said Erebus as he rummaged through his pockets for some gold.

Draco pocketed his gold as soon as they were placed in his hand, "And for someone who happens to also belong to the same category as me, you're awfully reluctant to impart an extremely small amount of gold to your friend."

"I happened to have plans with that money," said Erebus.

"Then don't bet with me the next time you want to buy something."

Erebus rolled his eyes and watched as their last member, Blaise Zabini, a wizard of Italian descent, walked towards them.

McGonagall picked up both the stool and the hat and walked back to her seat beside the Headmaster. As soon as McGonagall was seated, Albus Dumbledore stood up to welcome his new students.

"Welcome. Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our feast, I would like to say a few words. And they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you."

Dumbledore sat back on his large high backed chair to tumultuous applause, Gryffindor being the loudest of the lot while the Slytherins were hardly making a sound as they put their hands together. Erebus' hands didn't even leave the table; he was too busy staring at the old man in puzzlement.

"For someone who is revered as the wizard who defeated two Dark Lords, he doesn't seem much. More like an overly affectionate grandfather who is way past his tenure and could possibly be senile," said Amanda as a variety of food appeared on their table.

"What makes you think he really defeated them?" asked Erebus, his features suddenly hard.

"But I don't believe he did," replied the girl, calmly taking a piece of roast in front of her. "If he did, then we wouldn't still be at war now, would we?"

Erebus didn't know what to say to that without risking exposing his identity to everyone in the Great Hall. He instead opted to turn to his cousin in question. Draco merely shrugged at him, taking a drink of pumpkin juice. Amanda was truly an fascinating person. She had been in their company for only a few hours and she seemed to know them already. They really had to find out who she really was soon. The quicker they did, the firmer her standing would be in Slytherin House.

The feast was what you could call a learning experience for poor Erebus. He hated crowds and more especially, noisy crowds. He always did prefer the quiet peace Riddle Manor offered; somewhere he could actually hear himself think. He tended to lose his temper faster when placed in cramped situations, plus add in the fatigue and annoyance he'd been trying to subdue until now, it was no wonder he was now feeling snappish.

"Headache?" asked Draco, seeing the dark haired boy mumbling to himself as he massaged his temples.

"Yeah. It's going to be hard trying to get used to all these noises," mumbled Erebus.

Draco gave him a sympathetic look and Daphne patted him softly in the shoulders. "Is dessert over yet?" he grumbled. He was never much a fan of sweets. He would take an occasional cake every now and then or whenever Camellia whipped out something irresistible he could hardly resist. But other than those, he preferred the finer taste of wine down his throat.

"It is now." Amanda wiped her lips with a napkin and placed it back on the table. It too disappeared like the dishes on their table after awhile.

Erebus released a great sigh of relief but before he could he even stand up to leave for the comforts of his bed in their dormitories, Dumbledore rose from his seat again. He slumped back down uncharacteristically on the table with an irritated groan.

"Before I permit all of you to get back to your dormitories after our scrumptious feast…"

Erebus snorted, the feast hardly came to par with their house-keeper's cooking, which then reminded him to owl his mother tomorrow to ask her to ask Camellia if she could send them a couple more of her home cooking. "There are a few start-of-term notices I would like to remind you all. First of, the Forbidden Forest is exactly as the name implies – forbidden. No students are allowed to enter the forest without the escort of a teacher. The older students would do well to remember that."

Erebus saw that Dumbledore was eyeing the Weasley twins as he said the last part.

"Secondly, this year the third floor is off limits to everyone unless you wish to die a most painful death," the Headmaster continued. Erebus caught sight of a frowning Severus and couldn't help but feel the same about the Headmaster. Feeding a young student's curiosity was not the way to band them from doing what it is you don't want them to do. He wouldn't even be surprised if in the next few days students would turn up in the Hospital Wing after trying to see whatever it was that was in the third floor corridor that was supposed to kill them painfully. If he didn't know any better, the Headmaster could even be egging the students to disobey him.

Merlin, had the old coot finally gone off the cliff? The more he heard the older wizard speak, the less he believed his family's words of caution towards him. How could such a pathetically senile old man be a huge threat to his family? But then the logical side of him knew that those who looked less likely to harm you were the ones you really had to look out for because you wouldn't know what really it is that they want.

He'd been paying too much attention to Dumbledore that he failed to notice that the prefects were already ushering the students out of the hall until a sharp tap on his shoulder brought him out of his thoughts.

"Finally!" exclaimed Erebus, rising from his seat to join the crowd of Slytherins all waiting in line to exit the Hall. As they passed by the other tables, Erebus saw a student with Weasley red hair trying to make himself heard over the heads of chattering students and couldn't help but sneer at how pathetic he looked, waving his hands wildly over his head. The journey to the dungeons where the Slytherin Common Room was located took rather long considering they were below the lake. After numerous turns and a dozens stairs, the prefect that was leading them halted in front of a stone wall that was framed by two torches that burned emerald flames.

"_Roi du serpent_," the prefect intoned and the wall opened to reveal an archway that led to the Slytherin Common Room. The older students were already in the room and most of them were seated comfortably in couches near the fireplace, mingling happily with friends they hadn't seen over the summer. Whatever mask that was placed in front of the entire school was let loose in these walls, visible only to their House.

Erebus followed his friends and stepped into their home away from home. As soon as the last of the students entered the common room, the archway disappeared to be replaced by yet more stone walls. But instead of feeling locked up inside a dungeon, which technically they were, Erebus felt that the walls provided a sense of security. And that the green and silver tones combined with the two large fireplaces in the room gave it a cosy, calming effect. All in all, Erebus felt right at home.

"Excuse me, may I have your attention please?" the prefect said commandingly which made even the older students stop to listen. Once the whole room's attention was caught, the prefect cleared his throat and addressed his House.

"As the older students know it is the job of the fifth year prefects to ensure that everyone is aware of the changes made, if there are any, in the House rules. But since Professor Snape has found no reason to change any, we will only be briefing the first years of the certain rules that must be adhered whilst they are in Hogwarts and in Slytherin House."

The rest of the Slytherins went back to minding their own business after the prefect's speech but the first years were all still standing in one side of the room, waiting patiently for instructions.

Erebus was getting rather annoyed with all the waiting and standing but kept his silence knowing that this was the last of it and that before the hour was up, he would be comfortably tucked in his bed.

"My name is Marcus Flint and I am the male fifth year prefect as well as Slytherin's Quidditch Captain. The other fifth year prefect is Theresa Bulstrode who unfortunately had been taken ill prior to the start of term and will join us fully by the end of the week."

"Professor Snape is our Head of House as well as Hogwarts' Potion Master. I want all of you to treat him with respect. He is the type of person who will help you when you are in need; all you have to do is talk to him. His office is open to all Slytherins. However, he is also the type of person who can and will bring you down if you ever cross him or keep something from him that prevents him from helping you or anyone else."

"Slytherin is a proud House and therefore you should all be proud to have been sorted into Slytherin." That brought on a cheer from the other students causing Flint of to smile proudly back. "Unlike the Hufflepuffs who are often times too far into their own worlds to actually pay attention to anyone, Slytherins make sure to be alert and conscious at all times. We are smart but we do not bury ourselves into books like the Ravenclaws. And finally, we Slytherins do not walk into a fight without planning ahead and making sure all ends are covered, unlike Gryffindors. We are cunning, intelligent and most importantly we will never stop and we will use any means to achieve what we want!"

The first years and all the other students who had been paying attention to Flint clapped their hands, happy to have finally arrived and happy to be back. Flint gave final instruction to meet up in the common room in the morning before breakfast then directed the first years to their rooms (two students in each room) and they bustled off to get some well deserved rest after an exhausting day.

Erebus, Draco and Amanda spilt paths and the two boys immediately took a room as far from the others as possible, mostly for the sake of Erebus' sanity if he intended to stay in the castle for the next seven years.

The room was half the size of his room in the Manor and was divided into two; each end arranged identically and had one four poster bed that had covers and hangings in Slytherin covers, side tables on either side of the bed, and a desk and a chair. Two dark green couches were placed in the middle of the room over the silver carpeting that protected their feet from the cold stone floors that were present in the dungeons. There were no windows to show them the beautiful night sky, but on the other hand, one of the walls was charmed to be transparent and they were the only rooms in the whole castle that had a view of the lake from underwater.

It was a sight Erebus had never seen in his life; the way light passed through the lake and into their room, giving it a look as if the place was lit by unearthly light. A couple of fishes swam pass their wall and one long tentacle suddenly appeared, catching a bunch of fish in one go.

"Wow!" he heard Draco gasped from behind him.

"Yeah. I wonder if all the other rooms have this kind of view," said Erebus, not able to take his eyes from the unusual sight.

"The castle dungeons are all located underwater, so I guess all the Slytherins have this in their room." Draco moved towards the bed furthest from the underwater view but continued to be awed at the sight.

"Don't you want to take this bed?' Erebus pointed to the bed near the 'windowed wall', seeing where his cousin was.

"Love the view. But it'll probably be a killer in the morning once the sun hits the lake and I'm no morning person." said Draco, looking all to pleased with himself for having thought of it first.

Erebus groaned. Draco was right and he too was not a morning person. It seemed that the underwater window was not so great after all.

The two of them then changed out of the robes and into their pyjamas and soon all that could be heard in the room were Draco's soft snores. Despite his earlier fatigue and grouchiness, Erebus was still awake in his bed and was contemplating whether he should contact mother at such a late hour. In the end, the child in him won out and he pulled the crystal orb from his neck and held it before him.

"_Marvolo. Lily Riddle_." The orb glowed light blue before his mother's whole body was projected into the room, sitting in her study and all.

"Erebus." cried Lily at the sight of her son. "What are you doing still up?"

"Can't sleep," said Erebus. "I wanted to talk to you."

Lily smiled at her son, "How was your first day?"

"Not bad, could have done with a lot less of the Gryffindors." complained the youth.

"Understandable." replied his mother. "How about the sorting?"

"I don't really know what to think about the sorting. Did you know that the Hat isn't as close to Dumbledore as they all say?"

"The Sorting Hat? Well, it certainly was friendly if not a bit annoying during my own sorting. But if you think that the Hat is indeed impartial towards the Headmaster, then that's something worth looking into. The Hat may be of some use to us."

"What will it do? Sing riddles to our enemies?"

Lily laughed loudly, "Am I to take it that since you're sleeping beside the charmed wall that you were sorted into Slytherin?"

"Yeah, I fitted Slytherin the most but it did say that I could have also been sorted into the other Houses." said Erebus

"That's my son," Lily beamed proudly at her son.

"Alright mum, I have to go, classes start early tomorrow morning."

"Alright. Make sure you and Draco take care of yourselves and try not to get caught too much, especially not by McGonagall."

"Yes, mum."

"And please try not to attract the old man's attention. It won't do any of us any good."

"Yes, mother," replied Erebus, pacifying his mother.

"And try to annoy your godfather for me," said Lily.

"I don't want to die young, mother!" cried Erebus incredulously causing his mother to have another fit of laughter.

"Very well. Goodnight, child."

"Goodnight, mum."

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**A/N:** You know what to do guys…. Read and review! I'll see you all again next post!

_**dan4eva**_


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **A look into Erebus' first day at Hogwarts and some bonding sessions from our favourite Dark Prince and his godfather. We also get to find out more about Amanda's mysterious family and the Dark Lady comes for a quick visit. And I'm sure with the obvious hints I've placed all over this chapter, you'll figure out who the heck their talking about and we'll see him very soon. Can't wait….

Read and enjoy the chapter…

**Disclaimer:** Must I constantly repeat myself? Or you just really don't get it?

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**Chapter 5**

The first thought that ran through Erebus' mind when something warm touched his cheeks was that his mother was waking him up again before the crack of dawn, telling him that he had another session of training with the Circle. He pulled his pillow over his face and told her boldly that he didn't want to go and that he was going to sleep until he was old and grey when he remembered that he was now at Hogwarts and therefore no Dark Lady to spring him surprise training sessions before the roosters could even crow whenever she fancied.

Erebus groaned when he realized what had woken him up instead and the second thought that ran through his mind early that morning was to have his hands wrapped around Draco's neck and strangle him until he was paler than his hair. Damn the boy for getting to the bed furthest from the charmed wall before him. He turned to his side to grab his wand from his bedside table and cast a Lumos charm to illuminate his clock. He swore inwardly at having been woken up at 5 in the morning and his desire to unleash his wrath on his cousin increased a notch. Tossing his covers over to the side, he decided to just head to the common room lest he did something he would regret later on his cousin or the offending wall, knowing that he would never get back to sleep now that he was awake.

The common room was dark and quiet when Erebus got there and he settled on an armchair before the dying embers of their large fireplace. He was rather glad that none of his Housemates were awake yet since he had no desire to be questioned and prodded so early in the morning. Plus he'd rather not snap at the heads of the people he'd be spending seven years of his life with, for all he knew there was someone here his godfather had overlooked that could be of value for them. He'd only been sitting alone in the dark common room for a few minutes when the archway that led to the dungeon corridors appeared and his Head of House emerged.

Severus didn't realize at first that one of his students was already up and frowning, but then again he wasn't a Circle member for nothing, so when he felt someone staring at him, he changed directions to see who was up and what he saw caused him to double back in shock for the first time in his adult life.

"My my, I thought I'd never see the day when Erebus Riddle would be the first to wake up in the morning." Severus had a smirk on his face as he made his way through the many chairs and desk in the common room to get to the said boy.

Erebus frowned and turned away from his professor, not in the mood to listen, even to his godfather. "So tell me, child, what's gotten into you that you had to wake up at 5 in the morning? Something that no first year has ever done before, I tell you," asked Severus, sitting on the armrest of the couch Erebus was sitting on.

"I didn't do it on purpose you know!" snapped the boy.

Severus, used to the child's amazing social skills in the morning, just raised a dark brow at the tone but didn't comment on it. "Well, of course you didn't do it on purpose," said Severus seriously. "I think hell has to freeze over first before Erebus Riddle decides to wake up early on his own accord."

"Uncle Sev!" whined Erebus, glaring at the older man.

"Well it's true, young man. Tell me, when has anyone who's had the misfortune to wake you up before 10 in the morning come out unscathed in the eleven years that I've known you?"

Erebus had the decency to look ashamed but didn't soften his glare one ounce which just made his professor laugh out loud. He knew that the man only laughed or smiled in front of his Slytherins but not even they would ever see their Head of House as unguarded as he was now in front of his godson.

"I've lost count the number of times I've told your parents not to indulge you in your absurd sleeping habits. But do they ever listen? No. Your father would say that it's because you are still young and your magic has yet to be fully awaken. And as for your mother, I don't even know where to begin."

"It's because they adore me!" Erebus said with as much seriousness he could muster in the present company.

"Oh and I must hate you to the grave then since I'm the only in the family who actually wants you to have a healthy lifestyle."

Erebus stuck his tongue out to his godfather eliciting yet another laugh from the stoic man and a ruffling of his hair.

"Alright, child, why don't we head back to my quarters and you can mope there all you want and then you can tell me what prompted you to wake up at such an hour." Severus stood from the armrest and waited for the boy to get out of his comfortable slouch on the couch.

Feeling a spark of childishness he often showed in his less than great moments, Erebus raised his arms in front of his godfather and waited for the man to get his message, a lost-puppy look on his face. Severus stared at the child and rolled his eyes at Erebus' antics. "You'll be the death of me, do you know that, child? I don't know how your mother handles your mood swings." Nevertheless, Severus bent down to lift the child into his arms and placed him comfortably on his hips. It was a good thing Erebus was small for his age because if he'd done this to any other first year, something he would never ever do of course, he'd surely develop premature spinal problems.

"You're lucky I'm usually the first professor to rise in the morning or else you'd be dead if someone caught me carrying a student through the corridors," said Severus as they made their way down the corridor that led away from the Slytherin common rooms and to his private quarters.

All Erebus did was mumble in reply, perfectly content at being treated as a child, his head tucked comfortably in his professor's robes. Severus smiled once he heard the soft sounds that indicated the child had fallen asleep in his arms and tightened his hold on the child.

Two hours later, Erebus returned to the Slytherin commons to find that it was now full of students preparing to head up to the Great Hall for breakfast. But before he could even head up back to his dorm to find his friends, someone had grabbed him and dragged him towards a corner, away from the rest of the House.

"Where have you been, Erebus? I was so worried. Imagine my thoughts when I woke up to find your bed empty and that you weren't in the common room," cried Draco who Erebus just realized was accompanied by Amanda.

"Calm down, Ray, I just came from Severus' quarters," said Erebus.

"What were you doing in the professor's quarters so early in the morning?" asked Amanda.

Erebus eyed the blond boy and said, "I was woken abruptly at five in the morning which nearly gave the professor a heart attack."

"Er…I'll switch beds with you, Erebus, just please don't curse me in my sleep." intoned Draco, looking uneasily at his dark haired friend. Erebus continued to stare at Draco with his famous _you-wish-you-were-dead_ look until the blonde looked away and kept his distance from him.

Amanda, sensing that there was something going on between the two boys decided to interrupt before something bad happened, and she could tell Erebus wouldn't mind doing something illegal in front of his House.

"Come on, guys, the prefects are calling for all the first years to form a line. We're supposed to head to the Great Hall with the rest of them."

Erebus nodded and headed for the archway, Amanda and Draco trailing him.

The Great Hall was already brimming with chattering students by the time the Slytherins arrived. Most of the students, particularly the Gryffindors, sniggered at the orderly manner the Slytherins entered. The Prefects led the group followed by first years, who in typical Slytherin fashion, ignored the other students and walked towards their table where several of the older students were already seated.

Draco, for safety reasons, opted to sit on the other side of the table, beside Goyle and across from Erebus. For his part, the son of the Dark Lord rolled his eyes and grabbed a piece of bacon from the platter before him. During his stay in Severus' quarters, the professor had taught him a handy charm to make his bed hangings impervious to the sunlight directed by the transparent wall. 'It's to save your classmates of your lovely disposition in the morning' was what the man had said, but he wasn't going to tell Draco that, no. Sometimes the boy was so easy to tease, it felt wrong. But Erebus wanted to at least make his first day at Hogwarts interesting and if the first idea that presented itself was to make Draco sweat a little, then that's what he would do.

"You're up to something," said Amanda, having seen the smirk that showed briefly on Erebus' face.

"No I'm not," replied Erebus nonchalantly, taking a sip of his morning cup of tea.

"Yes, you are," pressed Amanda. "You have that look on your face and I bet it has something do with whatever it is Draco did to you this morning."

Erebus eyed the red haired girl carefully and was met with confidence that swirled in her blue eyes.

"I am up to something."

"Thought so," she said quietly with satisfaction, going back to her bowl of cereals. Erebus stared perplex at the girl then shook his head in amusement. Amanda Michaels was indeed something else.

Up on the Head Table, a conversation of a different kind was taking place.

"Severus, what do you know of Erebus Riddle?" Dumbledore asked his resident Potions Master.

Severus schooled his features to remain impassive though inside he was grinning broadly in amusement; it was time to get the show going. "What do you mean, Headmaster?" he replied coolly.

"It is not very often that the name Riddle pops into Hogwarts and interestingly enough ends up in Slytherin," said Dumbledore with his ever present genial smile and twinkling eyes. But Severus was not fooled by it, the old man was suspicious and it was his job to redirect that suspicion elsewhere.

"I don't know what you're trying to imply, Headmaster, but I've personally met the boy's mother and I can tell you that they have no connection whatsoever to the Dark Lord. They've simply been living out of the country for years and have decided to come back for the boy's education," said Severus, keeping his voice even.

"Ah… and may I ask where they have been living before now?"

"I believe the boy has some distant relatives in France and they moved there when he was only one to escape the troubles of the war." A definite lie, Severus knew, but if the old man did insist, they'd made sure that there were records that state that the Riddle family has been living in France for ten years.

Dumbledore seemed satisfied with Severus' explanation but one look back at the brooding boy sitting with the Slytherins and he knew there was still some mystery shrouding the boy. He just knew it and he'd never been wrong before.

Severus could feel the wheels turning in the old man's head and revelled in the tiny victory they'd pulled on the man. Dumbledore's suspicions were still there but at least for know they were sedated.

"He… he... headmaster, are y…y…you s…s…sure that H…H… Hagrid has ch…ch…checked the f… f… forest for any d… d…disturbances?" Severus couldn't help but overhear Quirrell's stuttered speech and suppressed the laugher that was threatening to escape from his mouth by staring hard on the double doors of the Great Hall. That would be a sight that would make even the most harden students shiver in fear, for a laughing Severus Snape, the Bat of the Dungeon and Evil-incarnated for all students, was worst, much worst because that would mean that the world has finally been turned upside down. But by Salazar's evening pants, Quirrell should be rewarded for his exemplary acting skills; Severus didn't think he could ever pull that kind of stunt off even if the Dark Lord asked him to.

After awhile, when the noise level in the Great Hall increased, the four heads of house descended upon their restless charges.

"Professor, are you sure that this is our schedule?" asked a light haired boy.

"I assure you, Mr Zabini, that in all the years I have handed out class schedules to my students, I have yet to make a mistake of sending a first year into an Advance Potions class," replied Severus, continuing to hand out schedules to the other year levels.

"Though sometimes I wish I could," he continue this time more softly so that only those around him could hear, "Then maybe they'd all just drop the subject and saving me a great deal of pain." This statement was clearly directed to the Gryffindors who Severus was looking at with disgust. Those who heard their professor's grumblings sniggered.

Blaise's cheeks coloured slightly. "But, sir, this says we meet Gryffindors almost every single day."

A certain boy with dark hair and pale features by the name of Erebus choked on a cup of tea he had been drinking and made a grab for his copy of the schedule he had yet to take a look at. Blaise's protest was verified the moment he looked at the first year Slytherin schedule and swore vehemently under his breath, not caring that he was currently in the presence of his Head of House.

Severus raised a brow at the child's reaction, to be honest; he'd been expecting a more violent response from the kid. Looks like Lily did manage to talk him.

"Language, Mr. Riddle, and rest assured, Mr. Zabini, that your grievances are shared by your House. Unfortunately I do not make the schedules, the Headmaster does. And please no do not try and approach him yourselves about it, I've been doing that for years and the old man will not budge. Therefore I suggest you adhere to your designated classes until such time comes for you to choose your own subjects. Good day to you all."

Severus left the first years' part of the table and headed further along the Slytherin table, handing out more schedules.

"This is the worse day of my life!" groaned Draco, banging his head on the tabletop.

"Come now, Draco," consoled Amanda, "It's Herbology first and we don't meet the Gryffindors until DADA tomorrow."

"Yeah, Ray, the day's just began. You can't possibly say that it's your worst day when it's not over yet, can you?"

Draco would have been comforted by his cousin's words if not for the devilish grin on Erebus' face.

Erebus watched as Draco swallowed rather loudly and tried his best not to burst out laughing that he failed to notice Amanda rolling her eyes at him.

_**sSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSs**_

The Slytherin's first class was Herbology together with the other Hufflepuff first years which was held in one of the greenhouses that littered the back of the castle. It housed both an array of magical and mundane plants and was taught by a dumpy little witch called Professor Sprout. However instead of handling one of the more magical plants found in the greenhouse, the first years were only taught on how to re-pot a variety of mushrooms and fungi. Erebus had no qualms at having to get his hands dirty, he hate to admit it, but he'd seen far more disgusting things than worms in fresh earth growing up in an extremely Dark household.

Before the end of the class, Professor Sprout had the students answering questions about the uses of the mushrooms they'd been working on. Erebus found the questions relatively easy since he'd used them in Potions before. But there were still instances that new information found itself in Erebus' mind. Like for example, in the times he'd used the Fly Agaric mushroom, he'd never know that it could actually be used to loosen bowel movements; not a use he found appealing, but it was information nonetheless.

After Herbology, the Slytherins headed back towards the castle for History of Magic while the Hufflepuffs headed down the dungeons for Potions. The class was purely composed of Slytherins which was wonderful; however their happiness was quickly sapped out when they realized that their class was taught by none other than the Gryffindor mascot, Remus Lupin, werewolf.

Remus was offered the History position by Dumbledore not five years ago when the Ministry dropped all Lycan-Wizard negotiations when it was clear that the werewolves had sided with the Dark Lady, and he was once again unable to find paid work. He'd at first rejected the offer since the castle held memories he did not wish to relive a second time but because times were dark and dangerous, the wizarding society shunned people like him and he had no choice but to accept the offer. At first he was extremely grateful to Dumbledore, but the longer he worked under the Headmaster, the more he felt the Headmaster only hired him to keep him under his eye and have someone to order around without the fear of defiance

Not long after, James joined him at the castle as an assistant professor in DADA. It would have been wonderful if the Marauders returned to the castle once more, but unfortunately, for reasons he didn't know, Sirius remained in the Ministry as an Auror even after much persuasion from him and James.

Remus surveyed his class and knew immediately that this would be a tough crowd to handle. He first pulled out the register and called out the names of the students, however when he got to the name Erebus Riddle, he couldn't help but stare at the boy. He was smaller and looked younger than any of the other students, so innocent looking and naïve. But there was something about the boy that drew the werewolf; it was as if he was once more looking at the face of a very dear friend that was long gone.

When Erebus had had enough with the attention he was getting from the timid professor, he spoke up. "Is there something wrong with my face, professor?"

Remus blinked, he hadn't realized he had been staring at his student and immediately rectified it by a clearing of his throat and proceeded to call out the rest of the students. One by one the students were called until at last Remus stowed the register back into the drawer and went ahead to teach his class.

"That was a strange class," said Draco once they were out of the classroom and were heading towards the Great Hall for lunch.

"You said it. Did you notice that Professor Lupin couldn't take his eyes off of Erebus?" asked Amanda, looking at said friend who had walked ahead of them.

Draco merely nodded; he'd been threading lightly when it came to his friend ever since their little exchange this morning. He'd hoped that once Erebus calmed down a bit, he could go talk to him. But it seemed that with how their morning had gone, it would be a long time coming before Erebus forgot his anger towards him.

He would never in a thousand years allow one of Potter's friends to get close to him but Erebus felt that a certain Remus Lupin was different. He couldn't really explain what made the man different from any of the old man's lackeys; it could be the animal in him, he didn't know. But Erebus was sure that if prodded in the right way, he could get the man to turn. It wasn't that hard really, his parents had done it countless of times, it was just the when and how to go about it that got Erebus thinking. He was so caught up in his own thoughts that he failed to notice a group of students running towards the Great Hall.

"Hey! Watch we're you're going, Riddle!" cried one of the boys who ran headlong with Erebus.

"You're the one who was running down the hall like a wild animal, Weasley!" said Erebus, picking himself off the floor.

"Say that again," demanded Weasley, walking up towards Erebus. Now, we all know that Erebus Riddle is not like any other kid, therefore even though as the larger boy made his approach towards him, he simply stood his ground and stared equally as fierce at the boy.

"You heard him, weasel. Are you so hungry that you think the food will run away if you don't chase after it?" he heard Draco shouting behind him. Draco, Amanda and the rest of the Slytherin first years had run quickly to Erebus' side at the sight of the collision and were ready to defend their fellow Housemate and friend.

"Shut up, Malfoy!" said Weasley, turning instead towards the blonde, his wand raised.

"What are you gonna do, Weasley, poke us all with your wand? I doubt you any spells that can cause damage," Draco sneered, retrieving his wand from his robe pocket.

"Why you Slytherin slime ball!" Weasley was about to lunge at the Slytherin when a loud voice rang from behind them.

"What is going on here?" Erebus turned around to see who had come to put a stop to the fight and groaned at the sight of Remus Lupin striding down the corridor.

_Oh just great_, thought Erebus. _The man would definitely believe a Gryffindor over a Slytherin_.

The same thought must have run through Weasley and the other Gryffindors' heads for they smirked at them before turning to face the professor.

"Professor Lupin, the Slytherin's here decided to get the better of us and Malfoy here pointed his wand at Ron," said an Irish boy immediately before any of them could speak.

"That's a lie, Professor!" cried Amanda, emerging from behind Erebus, glaring at Weasley and Finnigan, "Weasley ran into Erebus and pulled his wand at Draco."

"Is this true, Mr. Weasley?" asked Lupin, looking between Weasley and the Slytherins.

Ron's cheeks flushed red, opening and closing his mouth like a fish out of water, but no sound came out. Draco sniggered at the trouble the Gryffindors had dug themselves in.

"Very well, Mr. Weasley, Mr. Finnigan, I am very disappointed in you and five points each from Gryffindor," said Lupin.

Weasley started to protest at that. "But Professor, they're Slytherins!"

"And you are a Gryffindor, Mr. Weasley, both Hogwarts students, therefore both fall under Hogwarts' rules and Hogwarts does not tolerate fights in the corridor," Lupin said all of these calmly but Erebus could tell that he was restraining himself from barking at Weasley.

"I suggest you all get to the Great Hall for lunch." With that Lupin headed back to his office, leaving behind a group of extremely pissed off Gryffindors.

"This isn't over yet, Riddle!" said Weasley harshly. Erebus merely raised a brow at the implied threat.

"Are you okay, Erebus?" asked Amanda once only the three of them were left in the corridor.

"I'm fine." He dusted off his pants and headed for the double doors that would lead them to the Great Hall.

"Do you have any idea why Lupin was so considerate towards us? If I'm not mistake he was a Gryffindor together with Potter and Black," voiced Draco, following his cousin through the double doors.

"I don't know, Ray. I guess it's just one of those things we'll have to figure out while we're here," replied Erebus, turning to face his cousin.

Charms followed directly after lunch and was once again an all Slytherin class. The subject was thought by a tiny little wizard who most probably had dwarfish blood in him because even with magic, no wizard could ever be that small. Due to his unnatural height, Professor Flitwick had to stand on a pile of books just to see over his desk. Just as what happened during HoM, Flitwick stumbled when it came to call out Erebus' name. But unlike Lupin, Flitwick's shock got the best of him and he toppled off his pile of books, sending the parchments that were on his desk flying through the air.

By the time their first day came to an end, Erebus was exhausted and could be found flopped on a couch by the fire in the Slytherin Common Room. Though the day hadn't been particularly long, if one was observant enough, one would be able to find that a lot of things had happened. They may not seem significant yet, but Erebus was sure that in time, all those that he'd observed will be pivotal to what would happen in the future.

Then there was that confrontation with Weasley during break. He didn't want to admit it but he hated himself for actually being intimidated by the stupid blood traitor. He'd tell himself that he'd faced bigger men than Weasley during his mother's strenuous trainings. But in those times, he was allowed to use any spell he knew to protect himself, now that he was at Hogwarts, if he was caught using one of those spells, he could just wish his life goodbye and hello to Ministry holding cells. In here he had no means to defend himself and what more he was now a Slytherin; every action he performed would be viewed as assault or Dark by both the Ministry and the school. He was glad at first to be at Hogwarts, but now he wanted nothing more than to crawl up on his parents' bed and hide beneath the covers.

He hadn't realized he'd dosed off on the couch until he felt a slight tap on his arm. He sat up straighter on the couch and turned to find Amanda standing before him.

"Hey, Amanda," he managed in between yawns.

Amanda smiled at him and sat herself on a sofa opposite Erebus. "Erebus, I don't want to come off as someone overly eager or something, but since everyone's back from dinner, could we possibly go and find Professor Snape now and ask him if he knows anything about my ring?"

"Sure, Amanda. He's probably back in his quarters by now," said Erebus, getting to his feet. One look at the clock that was placed on the mantle above the fireplace, he added, "As a matter of fact, he should probably be sitting behind his desk right now sipping a cup of tea while trying to go through the week's edition of Potions Daily."

"How'd you know all that?" asked Amanda.

"Sev's the type of guy who finds it hard to break habits. Though you won't notice them unless you look carefully; Sev's good at concealing things. Just wait here while I get my cloak." He dashed back up to his room and within five minutes, he was back down the common room with Amanda heading towards the archway.

As they were about to go, the archway appeared to reveal Draco Malfoy. "Hey, where're you guys going?"

"Off to find Severus to ask him about Amanda's ring." said Erebus.

"Cool. Can I come? I wanna know who you really are as well." said Draco, happy that Erebus was no longer giving him _his_ looks.

"Of course, Draco." replied Amanda.

"Yeah Draco, it's better than staying in our room all night waiting for the sun to come shining through." Draco groaned and berated himself for always hoping that Erebus would somehow possess a short memory span.

Severus' private quarters was guarded by a large portrait that had a pit which contained a number of large snakes. Erebus knew that there were two ways to get through the room, one was to say the password and the other was to speak to the snakes. Parseltongue was of course not possible considering the present company but he didn't know Severus' password considering he was asleep when he was brought here in the morning. They could of course wait for Severus to come out, but Erebus knew that that would be highly unlikely since his godfather never leaves until after curfew and they couldn't wait until then. Having no choice whatsoever, Erebus walked right in-front of a particularly large snake and prayed that Amanda wasn't a member of a long lost Light family.

'_We wish to seek Severus Snape__,__'_ hissed Erebus, ignoring the surprised gasp that came from behind him.

'_And who wishes to do the seeking?_' asked the snake.

'_Erebus Riddle, Draco Malfoy and Amanda Michaels.'_

The snake dissolved from the portrait only to return a minute later. '_Enter._'

The portrait swung open to reveal a large living space and the three Slytherins walked through. Once the portrait had shut itself once more, Amanda grabbed hold of Erebus' arm and pulled him around so that they were face to face.

"What was it that you did just now?" she demanded. Erebus sighed and resigned himself to revealing at least some part of who he truly was.

"I'm a Parselmouth. It means I have the ability to talk to snakes," said Erebus.

Amanda stared sceptically at Erebus but decide to let go of his arm. "Why do I have the feeling that it's not a very common gift?"

"It isn't," replied the son of the Dark Lady.

"Does it have something to do with your family?" asked Amanda.

"Yes."

"But you're not going to tell me about who you really are, are you?"

"Not until we figure out who you really are," said Erebus.

"Fair enough," said Amanda.

Throughout the entire conversation between Erebus and Amanda, Draco was sitting on the professor's sofa, watching how his cousin broached the subject he had no interest in breeching.

"So where's Sev? Shouldn't he be here by now?" he spoke up at last.

Erebus looked around the room and indeed Severus was nowhere in sight. Odd. "Uncle Sev!" he shouted.

Someone could be heard moving from behind the door furthest from the entrance and soon Severus Snape emerged.

"The alarm didn't sound, how'd you get here? Wait, don't tell me…" Severus glared at the dark haired boy, causing the boy to toe the floor under his hard gaze.

"I had no choice." said Erebus.

"Erebus Ferrox Riddle." The warning tone in his godfather's voice whenever he said his full name like that always made Erebus feel like he was five once more.

"I didn't know your password and I was asleep when you brought me here this morning. Plus it's an hour before curfew; we couldn't wait that long for you to come out. I didn't want to do it but I really had no choice and Amanda won't go sprouting out to the whole school about me being a Parselmouth, and she's the girl I told you about this morning. Really, Uncle Sev, if I had any other choice I won't have done it the way I did."

Severus considered the out of breath look his godson had trying to explain to him the reasoning behind his decision to enter his quarters via the snakes in the presence of new company and concluded that the boy really didn't have a choice and the fault was partially his for forgetting to tell him the password.

"The password's _hellebore_ and I'd rather you not do what you did just now, it's not safe, Erebus," said Severus.

"I know, Sev, I won't do it again." Erebus smiled, he was safe.

Severus shook his head at his godson; somehow he knew he'd be having more conversations like this with the child. "Very well, you said something about a signet ring this morning."

"Yeah," nodded Erebus, reaching his hand for the ring that Amanda held closely to her chest. Amanda was reluctant to part with her ring at first but after some coaxing from the two boys, she gave it to Erebus.

"I've had it for as long as I can remember, Professor. The attendants at the orphanage said it was the only thing that was left behind with me when they found me on their doorstep." Erebus handed the ring with the chain attached to Severus which then the man examined closely under a pair of sharp ebony eyes.

Even at first glance, Severus knew that the ring was both authentic and old. There were enchantments placed on the ring that were linked to its bearer which only meant that Amanda was indeed the last remaining member of whichever family the ring belonged to. And that made it all the more intriguing for Severus. This child, Amanda, was the sole heir and carrier of magic for an entire line of witches and wizards, a powerful witch indeed.

He turned the ring around to see the crest engraved on the stone and nearly dropped it at what he saw.

"Professor, do you recognize the ring? Do you know who I really am?" asked Amanda at the sight of Severus' shocked expression.

Severus' eyes left the ring and stared at Amanda in disbelief. He couldn't believe it. They'd all thought no one was left, that all of them had perished during the explosion, but here was the last of them standing right in front of him. He definitely couldn't believe.

"Ms. Michaels, are you sure you've had this since you were a child?" Severus asked; he had to make sure.

Amanda nodded. "It was the only thing besides a blanket that was found on me when I was left on the orphanage doorstep."

"Uncle Sev, so do you know which family it belongs to?" prompted Draco when Severus returned to examining the ring and failing to answer the earlier question.

Severus looked up from the ring and stared at the three first years. "Yes. I know who you really are, Ms. Michaels. You are Lysandra McEvoy, daughter of Caelus and Aurelia McEvoy."

Amanda couldn't believe her ears. At long last she'd found her family, she was no longer just a Muggle orphan. She no longer had to endure the taunts of the older children about her being a freak. After so many years, she'd finally found out who she really was. Lysandra McEvoy. It sounded so much better than Amanda Michaels; much more natural and real.

"McEvoy… McEvoy… Why does that sound so familiar?" Erebus wondered aloud, turning to face his godfather who still had a look of disbelief on his face.

"Because it's carved on one out of ten slabs of stone, right next to the Zabini family crest." replied Severus to Erebus' inquiry.

Erebus and Draco gasped. Amanda stared in bewilderment at the three of them. "Why? What does that mean?"

Severus walked towards Amanda and handed the ring back to her. "Keep this safe, Ms. McEvoy. Don't ever let anyone see it. Or better yet, don't ever use your real name."

"Why?" cried Amanda. "Exactly who am I and what's this about my name being carved on a stone?"

The Potions Master thought for a moment whether it was safe to tell the girl about her family right under the Headmaster's nose before going over to his godson.

"I know Lily gave you a Contact Orb, I want you to call her now and ask her to come over."

"But, Sev, we're at Hogwarts!"

"My chambers are the most heavily warded rooms in the castle. Your mother will be safe. And I'm sure Dumbledore is busy with paper work ever since the Ministry started to lean heavily on the man for advice to actually notice."

Erebus pulled out a silver chain from underneath his robes and placed the orb on the palm of his hand. "_Marvolo. Lily Riddle_."

The Dark Lady's body materialized before them and spoke upon seeing the worried expression on her son. "What is it, child?"

"Sev wants you to come here at once," said Erebus.

"Why?" asked a surprised Lily.

"I believe it's something to do with the McEvoys."

A look of confusion graced Lily's face until recognition dawned on her and her expression became identical to that of Severus' when he first saw Amanda's signet ring.

"I'll be right over." The Orb stopped glowing as the Dark Lady disappeared, terminating their link. Within minutes, as if she had been hiding in the room all along, Lily emerged from the shadows, causing Amanda to gasp in surprise once more.

Lily looked from Erebus to Severus until finally her gaze landed on the anxious red head. She walked towards Amanda and looked at her from head to toe, trying to see for herself the long lost child.

"You are the daughter of Caelus and Aurelia." Lily spoke softly.

Amanda nodded her head vigorously. "According to the professor."

"May I?" asked Lily, her hands outstretched. Amanda handed her ring and waited nervously for whatever would come next.

"Unbelievable," intoned Lily. Erebus was getting a tad impatient and dove in to ask the question that's been bugging him since Severus revealed Amanda's true identity.

"Mother, does this mean she takes over the seat in the Circle?"

Lily turned to her son, she had completely forgotten that. But how could she put a mere child in the Circle? A child who hasn't even scratched the surface about her family's history.

"Of course not," answered Lily.

"Ma'am," said Amanda, turning her confused looks on Lily.

"I'm sorry, child, you must be very confused with all this," said Lily, retuning the ring to the girl.

Amanda merely nodded and smiled sheepishly at Lily. "Do you know my parents? Do they know about me?"

Although Erebus didn't know everything about the Circle, he did know for a fact that a number of them perished during the first war and that one of those who died were the McEvoys. Lily and Severus stared at each other, how were they supposed to tell a child who'd long longed for parents that her parents were killed by her own grandfather? Lily stepped closer to Amanda and knelt down to the same level of the child.

"They're dead, aren't they?" said Amanda before Lily could speak. The adults were left speechless at Amanda's astute intuition and uncanny calmness.

"Yes, child, they were attacked then burned in their own home," said Lily after awhile. "Some thought you died with them but we still held searches in case your parents hid you."

"Can you tell me about them?" asked Amanda.

"Of course, child. Your mother and I were great friends and your paternal grandparents were very friendly people, though a lot of people thought otherwise."

Amanda looked between Erebus and his mother and understanding came to her. "My parents, they worked for you, didn't they?" she asked.

Erebus looked shocked at Amanda's question for none of them had ever implied nor revealed themselves to her. Lily however seemed not at all surprised at Amanda's quick perception; after all, Aurelia was just as perceptive as her daughter.

"I wouldn't say they worked for me, more like we had the same views and worked together to achieve them," said Lily, causing Severus to snigger from behind.

"But you are the Dark Lady they all talk about, aren't you? The person the volunteer in the orphaned kept saying ruled over all that was Dark."

"Do you fear me? Do you fear the Dark?" asked Lily, eyeing the young girl carefully. Amanda thought for a moment and smiled.

"No. Not at all." Lily smiled back at the girl and gave her a hug which was returned rather reluctantly.

"Amanda, would you like to stay over our manor for the holidays? I'll tell you then all you want to know about your parents," offered Lily.

"Thank you, Mrs. Riddle."

"Call me Lily. Now, I know you want to use your real name, but I suggest you use the name you have now for safety reasons. It is prudent that your identity become a secret, at least for now. As for the reason why, it is not safe to this discuss it within the walls of the castle."

Amanda nodded and could hardly wait for the school to close for the holidays. Lily walked over to her son, who was smiling happily at his friend, and ruffled his black hair.

"Thank you, mum," Erebus hugged his mother who gave him a gentle kiss on the head.

"The house is rather lonely now that both you and your father are gone."

"I want to go home." whispered Erebus suddenly before he could stop himself.

Lily let go of her son and gave him and look of complete resignation. "Erebus…"

"Forget it, mum." interrupted Erebus, looking away from his mother.

"Look at me, child," Lily pulled her son's chin towards her so that they were face to face, "If it was possible for you to stay in the manor, I'd let you stay. But you said it yourself that you need to face the other side if you want to have a chance at getting rid of it for good."

Erebus was about to say something else to his mother but decided to bear with it for the meantime, his mother probably had a lot on her plate right now. Lily seemed to have caught her son's indecision but choose not to comment on it. She would know when he was ready to tell.

"You take good care of yourself. You know how to contact me when you wish to talk. I'll see you again soon." said Lily before going over to her nephew to tell him the same thing.

"It's five minutes before curfew, I suggest you all return to your common rooms now and do not discus what you've learnt this evening openly in front of the others." Severus, who had remained quiet throughout the whole thing, now spoke up.

Erebus, Draco and Amanda bid their goodnights and left the Potion Master's quarters.

"Severus," Lily turned to her childhood friend once the door to the quarters closed, "I want you to look out for all three of them."

"I will, Lily, don't worry."

"Make sure they don't get themselves into too much trouble. If Erebus is anything like his father, he'll hide things until he can't hide them anymore. Watch over them Sev, make sure Dumbledore doesn't get his hands on them."

"Trust me, Lils, the boys are like sons to me and Amanda may soon find her way in as a daughter as well."

Lily chucked at Severus, rarely did the man tell anyone of his feelings. Severus for his part, frowned at the red haired beauty.

"By the way, tell Quirrell not to over do it. And tell him I said he's stuttering worst than an old warlock; that should get him to act decently." With that, Lily merged with the shadows once more leaving behind Severus who was trying, but failing miserably to keep himself from collapsing on his chair from laughing so hard.

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**A/N:** More on Amanda's identity in the coming chapters and I promise you that it'll be good…. Til next post everbody…

_**dan4eva**_


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: **I've decided to post this next chapter even though I've yet to post the next chapter for Dark Secrets because I know how much you want to read more about Erebus and the Slyhterins ans because I'm confident that's I'll be able to get Chapter 15 Blood and Whatnots of Dark Secrets in the next coupke of weeks. It just needs a few more edits and I'll be able to post ot soon. I'm really sorry for the wait.

Anyway, back to Erebus. My beta has warned me that I write Erebus into such an extreme character, in a way that he seems to be better than everyone else. I've solved that out but still expect some arrogance from the red-green eyed boy as he is the Prince of Darkness, wherein arrogance goes pretty much in the territory. This chapter gives you a few hint on the things that don't make Erebus the perfect Slytherin that he is. HE Does have his problems. And also the apperance of............

**Disclaimer:** not mine.

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**Chapter 6**

The following days proved to be much more of a challenge for Erebus and all of the other Slytherin first years compared to the relative calm of their first day. After their less than amicable encounter with the Gryffindor first years, it was no wonder that their very first Defence Against the Dark Arts class the next day was a disaster. Since Professor Quirrell was the veteran professor for Defence Against the Dark Arts and only taught fourth year students and above in preparation for their O. and N.E., the lower years got the assistant professor, James Potter, instead.

James Potter, after the tragic demise of his wife and son in the hands of He Who Must Not Be Named, buried himself in his work as an Auror in the Ministry and for years poured all of his frustrations by catching Death Eaters and putting a stop to all the plans of the Dark Lord Voldemort's successor, Lady Moraga. It was clear to the others that his grief and anger made him more dedicated to eradicate the Dark. But ever since he'd remarried and gotten a new family of his own, he'd loosened up and in the insistence of his wife, retired from being an Auror and applied for the assistant professor job whilst still offering his assistance to the Ministry as the Senior Advisor for the Auror Department. Even though James Potter no longer worked in the field, he was still as driven to crush the Dark as he was when he was still fresh from the Auror Academy. For him, nurturing the future Light fighters in Gryffindor and making sure that those slippery Slytherins were put in line, were the best options they had in bring down the rising power of the Dark

"What class do we have next?" asked Erebus as they made their way out of yet another History of Magic class. Lupin was still giving him weird looks but other than that, the man had refrained from causing another scene.

"It's Defence Against the Dark Arts next with the Gryffindorks." said Amanda.

"Let's hurry then. We wouldn't want to be late for the most bigoted Gryffindork of all, lest he finds a way to get our points in the negatives so early in the year!" said Draco.

"Why would he do that?" asked Amanda, turning to face both boys. She may now know of her real name, but there were still plenty of back stories in the wizarding world she was oblivious of.

"Well, Defence Against the Dark Arts is a shared Gryffindork class and the professor is the renowned James bloody Potter, Gryffindork's ex-Chaser extraordinaire, former Auror and Dumbledore's golden boy before Longbottom. If he gets a chance to have the upper hand on all Slytherins, he'll take it. He's as prejudiced as you can get," said Erebus, enlightening his friend about one of the thorns on his family's skin.

Fortunately for them, they arrived before the Gryffindors and were the first in the classroom. Five minutes before the bell was to ring to signal the beginning of classes, James Potter thundered through the door in a rage. He swept through the room muttering under his breath and seemed to have not noticed the shocked expressions on the Slytherins' faces. It was only when he turned around that he saw that there were already students in his class, and to find that they were all Slytherins did not improve his mood.

James stared at the Slytherins who were all staring warily at him, all except one. The Riddle kid was eyeing him intensely with his unusual coloured eyes and surprisingly, it rivalled the looks of most of the adults he'd met in his career in the Ministry. It caused his Auror instincts to be on guard but when he looked back at the boy again, his face was schooled just like everyone else's, innocent and scared. There was something about this Riddle kid that screamed danger in his head, and it started with him being sorted into Slytherin House.

Erebus watched, in silent fascination, the emotions that flashed in rapid succession on Potter's boyishly rugged face. It was amusing to see the older man trying to decipher him when no one other than immediate family members ever came close. However, Erebus wanted to know what got the Gryffindor in such a temper so early in the morning. Surely it had to be more than teaching a bunch of Slytherins, for after all, if they had any choice in the matter, they wouldn't want him either.

But before Erebus could analyze James Potter further, the wooden door slammed open and the missing, idiotic half of the class appeared, led by Weasel with Longbottom trailing slightly behind him. Once they all found their seats, James Potter proceeded to the centre of the room, in front of all the students and began his introduction.

"Welcome to your first Defence Against the Dark Arts class. I'm James Potter, Assistant Professor to Professor Quirrell. I'll be your instructor in DADA for the first three years of your magical education. My job is to prepare you with the basics of defence before you are integrated with the more advance curriculum of the upper years."

"For your first lesson," James stepped down the middle aisle and moved towards his students, "I will be testing your basic knowledge in defence. I'm not expecting any of you to perform exemplary defence work since you are only first years, but I want to gauge your present abilities so as to better help you with the subject. Defence may be all fun and games for you now but let me tell you that Mastery of Defence takes years, just like any of the magical fields you may choose to pursue further after you graduate. It requires quick reflexes and a sharp mind; you cannot possibly stand in the field and think of what spell to cast next. It has to be instinct the next spell you cast, for that split second of hesitation could be the difference between your victory and ultimate defeat."

The Slytherins couldn't help but listen to every word that came out of the former Auror's mouth. It wasn't that Potter had anything to say that they didn't already know, but his words still rang true to most of them, if not their entire House. On the other hand, the Gryffindors were all looking smug and Weasley actually had his chest puffed up a little. Erebus sneered at their self-righteous expressions; trust a Gryffindor to perk up at the first sign of a fight. However Erebus knew that if Weasel there knew exactly what a true battle entailed and, not the coated tales the Light told its young, his face wouldn't be so arrogant.

James smiled at the excited faces that were all eager to be taught how to defend themselves, though he was oblivious to the indifferent expressions of the other half of his class. Soon the class had been divided into pairs, much to the dark haired boy's delight; Erebus was paired up with none other than Ronald Weasley himself.

"As I've said, I do not expect many of you to actually be able to produce a spell that will do any damage but still I want you to give your best shot." The chairs and tables had all been banished to the sides of the room and James Potter had returned to the front, facing the eagerly waiting students.

The first pair was two Gryffindor girls, an Indian girl with long plaited hair and one with a silly looking butterfly on her head. Both of them were unable to stop themselves from giggling, Salazar knows what they found funny, to actually manage a spell. In the end, James had to call on the next pair, a look of pure amusement on his face as he did so.

The other pairs fared just the same; it was clear that the majority of them knew nothing more than wave their wands in a disoriented manner. There were however a few Slytherins and even fewer Gryffindors who actually managed to get the upper hand on their less experienced duelling partner. As a matter-of-fact Draco was able to send Longbottom on his rear end with a simple, perfectly aimed knockback jinx, which Potter merely grunted as beginners luck, causing Draco to stare balefully at the man when he wasn't looking.

When it was finally time for Erebus to face his partner, he was still contemplating on what spell to use on the boy. He of course could not use any of the spells he would normally use since most of them were either way too advanced for a first year like him, and would definitely raise many unwanted questions, or far too dark to even think of performing within Dumbledore's school. In the end, the haughty look on Weasley's face was what inspired him to do what he did.

"You're gonna get it, Riddle!" whispered Weasley so that only the Slytherin could hear.

"I doubt it, Weasley, your head's probably been coddled way too much by that mother of yours for anything to actually penetrate it!" taunted Erebus in equally soft tones.

Weasley's face turned a shade of red that rivalled even that of his hair and pulled his wand before him, ready to cast whatever spell he knew at the dark haired boy. But when Weasley opened his mouth to cast his spell, his hand immediately flew up to his throat since no sound came from him. He tried again and again, but not even a tiny squeak came out. The Slytherins began to snigger at the pathetic look on Weasley's face as he tried over and over again to produce even the slightest of sound from his mouth. Draco and Blaise looked at each other knowingly before joining their House in laughter.

Erebus watched Weasley with amused eyes, his face plastered with a look of mild interest. James rushed forward, pushing through a group of panicking Gryffindors, and grabbed Weasley so that he could asses what had caused the boy to suddenly lose his voice. With a few waves of his wand, James was able to break the spell and Weasley groaned out in delight, much to the Slytherins' chagrin.

"I can speak!" Weasley shouted, stating the obvious.

James stowed his wand back in its holster and turned hard hazel eyes towards the petite Slytherin. "Fifteen points from Slytherin Mr. Riddle for deliberately causing harm on another fellow student."

The Slytherins immediately burst out in protest at the injustice of it all. "But, sir, Erebus didn't even do anything!" cried Pansy.

"Am I to believe, Ms. Parkinson, that Mr. Weasley placed a spell on himself to prevent himself from speaking?" said James incredulously, turning to the Slytherin.

"But there's no proof that Erebus performed the spell and Weasley wasn't even harmed!" Amanda continued the line of protest, waving her hands at Weasley's fuming otherwise perfectly normal state.

"That is beyond the point, Ms. Michaels. And I don't seem to hear Mr. Riddle defending himself." James turned to the said boy and saw that Erebus was staring at him innocently.

"Professor, my friends have said all that I want to say and the only thing that I can add is that, I did not have my wand raised. Are you saying I'm capable of performing wandlessly, Professor? No eleven-year-old is capable of that, sir, even the Gryffindors know that." Erebus spoke with a calm voice but there was a gleam in his multicoloured eyes that James could not make out.

"That maybe so, Mr. Riddle, but you did not help him get rid of the spell, instead you just laughed at him like the others. Therefore it is just that I took those points from you. Class dismissed," James ground out, not knowing what else to say, and went through a door that was located just behind his desk, ignorant of the red eyes that flashed briefly from the small boy, trailing him as he made his exit.

"You know it was unfair of the professor to take those points from you," said Amanda once they were out of earshot from any annoying Gryffindors and one particularly biased professor.

"Oh just leave it be, Amanda, there's no use trying to make Potter side with Slytherins. Heck, I'll be extremely surprised if he allowed that chance to take points from us before Uncle Sev takes points from the Gryffindors pass by, which I'm sure he would after he hears of this," said Erebus.

Amanda looked unconvinced at her friend. "You're the one who did it, am I right? Why else would you be so unperturbed about the injustice?"

Erebus stopped in his tracks, causing Draco and Blaise to screech to a halt behind him. "What would you do if it really was me who did it?" inquired the boy, dodging the question.

"I would tell you it was stupid!" snapped Amanda, shocking all three boys in the process.

"What?!" cried Erebus, not understanding his friend's reaction.

"You heard me, Erebus. It was stupid of you to perform wandlessly in front of the wizard who would do anything to destroy your family. What if he grows suspicious of you and reports you to Dumbledore? You don't exactly give off a Light aura. You heard what your mother said," said Amanda sternly, her arms crossed before her chest.

Draco stared agape at the red haired girl. He couldn't believe the nerve she had accusing Erebus of putting his family in danger. Erebus was anything but that, if anything else, Erebus would do anything for his family and would never do something downright stupid so as to endanger all those that he held dear. Erebus may appear cold and indifferent at times but that was merely because he was raised like any traditional pureblood family; once he was with his family, he was just as protective as his revered father.

"You're right," said the dark haired boy after awhile, his multicoloured eyes hooded.

"She is?" cried both Draco and Blaise in disbelief.

"I am?" said Amanda in surprise. She hadn't really meant any of the words she said earlier and she'd only said those words in pique since she tried to defend her friend only to find out that he really did cast the Silencing Charm. She didn't need to be told of it, she could just tell, like the so many other things she'd discovered in the short span of two days. It was simply a gift she had.

"You're right," Erebus repeated. "I wasn't thinking rationally. I shouldn't have done that to Weasley in front of Potter."

"Erebus, I…" Amanda started only to be stopped by the boy.

"It's okay, Amanda. I know you didn't mean what you said. I know better than to let myself be egged on by that Gryffindor," said Erebus, offering a smile to the fidgeting girl before heading off towards the opposite direction.

"Erebus!" Draco shouted after his cousin, "Where are you going?"

"I'm not feeling hungry anymore, you guys go on without me," said Erebus, not stopping in his trek back to the dungeons.

"Erebus!" Draco shouted once more but this time he was blatantly ignored.

"What just happened?" asked Amanda, looking between the two boys.

"Don't know," shrugged Blaise, "I've never seen him act like that before. Have you, Draco?" The blonde boy shook his head and the three Slytherins marched off towards the Great Hall, all trying to figure out what was clearly bothering their dark haired friend.

_**sSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSs**_

The next day the Slytherins had Herbology once more with the Hufflepuffs after which they had their very first Transfiguration class with the Gryffindors. Tension was palpable between the two Houses as Professor McGonagall entered the classroom. It was quite known within the castle that McGonagall did not favour any House even her own House of Gryffindor, and did not tolerate any House rivalries, which of course caused disappointment among her students.

It was quite clear from the way the Gryffindors kept shooting dirty glances at the Slytherins that they had yet to forget yesterday's incident. Weasley and Finnigan were seated at the very front of the class and kept throwing snide looks at Erebus' general direction. Erebus on his part kept up his calm demeanour which the rest of the Slytherins followed up, much to the Gryffindors' annoyance.

McGonagall lived up to her strict reputation splendidly when Dean Thomas tried to play darts with the needles they were supposed to be transfiguring and would have blinded Blaise, had Erebus not pulled him down at the last second. The Head of Gryffindor House was furious that one of her own students had the nerve to act out in her class and deliberately cause harm to a fellow student. She removed twenty points from Gryffindor and assigned Thomas two nights worth of detention, much to her House's outrage.

Right after lunch the Slytherins had their second Defence Against the Dark Arts class in two days. During that class, Erebus had become subdued if not more so than this morning and every time Draco or Amanda would ask him what was bothering him, he would merely smile and say that he was alright. It was a lie, Draco knew, but he also knew that Erebus did not like being pressed and that eventually he would tell someone whatever it was that was bothering him. But the only problem was that Erebus was too stubborn to ever admit that he needed help, therefore it usually took months for anyone to realize he had a problem, something that drove all of them up the wall.

For today's lesson James Potter brought along with him a large wooden dummy which they were going to use instead of human partners to practice some basic defensive spells. Just like before they all took turns to inflict as much damage as they could on the dummy without resulting to using advance spells. Weasley, contrary to Gryffindor appearance, only managed to hit the dummy on his fifth attempt and even that was pathetic seeing that the dummy only looked like he had a black eye on his left eye.

When it was Erebus' turn on the dummy, he stared at it good and hard as if he was somehow trying to communicate with it, before casting a simple Disarming Spell. However instead of the dummy's fake wand being thrown of its hand, Erebus' spell deflected causing his wand to go flying instead. Instantly whispers spread throughout the room; sniggering mostly from the Gryffindors but the Slytherins were all whispering in confusion.

"What happened?" asked Draco the moment Erebus got back on his desk.

"I lost control." offered Erebus.

"The Disarming Spell?" said Draco in disbelief.

"Yes, Draco, the Disarming Spell." Erebus stated flatly.

"But, Erebus, you've done more advance spells than that and you've never lost control!" Draco said in a whisper so that only they could hear.

"But I did, Ray," said Erebus, growing tired of the conversation.

"Erebus, what's bothering you? You haven't been yourself since yesterday."

"I'm fine, Draco, I just lost control." replied Erebus.

"But, Erebus…"

"Enough, Draco!" whispered Erebus severely, his eyes hard and intense. "I lost control alright? That's it!"

Draco backed down immediately knowing full well the extent of the Dark Prince's wrath and sought after Amanda. Both of them looked warily at Erebus. Now they knew that there was really something wrong with their friend.

Dinner was a quiet affair at the Slytherin table later that evening as none of them wanted to speak of the day's events for fear of being lashed at by Erebus. The boy on the other hand was acting as if nothing had happened and was eating his chicken with relative pleasure.

"We've got Astronomy later tonight," said Amanda hoping to break the ice that had somehow enveloped the entire first year Slytherins.

"Yeah, I heard it's going to be with the Gryffindorks again," said Pansy, eliciting frustrated groans from her fellow classmates.

"What's Dumbledore playing at pairing us with those Gryffindorks in every subject?" complained Draco.

"It's simple, Malfoy." said Flint suddenly, the fifth year prefect. "He wants to keep an eye on us. Lets face it; everyone in this school thinks that just because most of us aren't in league with _them_," he nudged his head at the direction of Potter and Dumbledore sitting at the Head Table, "we're out to get them."

Draco made a face at the obvious answer but did not comment on it since it was extremely unwise to voice out his thoughts in public.

The first years had a couple of hours before they were due for their first Astronomy class which was held at the Astronomy Tower at midnight. There was still some residual tension from earlier between the two Houses but it seemed that, like the Slytherins, the Gryffindors were also getting tired of being paired up with Slytherins all the time. Professor Sinistra, a tall dark haired witch who looked as if she hadn't slept in months, asked them for their first lesson, to locate all the planets in their solar system using their telescopes and as for homework, write a detailed essay on each of them. Since it was a cloudless night, they were able to finish their task early and were dismissed ahead of time much to their professor's delight who looked like she was about to collapse from exhaustion.

Erebus simply collapsed on his bed by the time they'd gone back to their rooms, not even bothering to remove his robes and shoes, which of course did not go unnoticed by the ever pristine Draco Malfoy.

"Shut up, Ray!" mumbled Erebus from his sprawled position on the bed before Draco could even finish his drabble about hygiene. "Not everyone is as obsessed with cleanliness as you!"

"Well a Malfoy has to keep up appearances. We are after all a well-respected family in the wizarding world. It would be bad for our family name to be seen less than our best." Draco said in a slight pompous manner.

Erebus rose from his comfortable position and stared incredulously at his cousin, "Who the heck do you want to impress here? Me? Ray, I've seen every humiliating detail about you, and trust me, no amount of impressing will ever make me forget them." A large feather-stuffed pillow collided with Erebus' face, knocking the air out of the boy.

A well heated pillow fight soon ensued, bursting the pillows and showering them both in goose feathers. By the time they were about to reach for their last remaining pillows, their door burst open and a pyjama clad Severus Snape entered their room.

Severus stood nonplussed at the doorway as he stared at the mess before him. The green carpeted stone floors were hardly distinguishable with the amount of feathers that littered the room. But the image that kept the dark haired man rooted on the spot was that of his godson and Draco, each holding a pillow in mid toss, feathers stuck in their hair and clothes, and Severus didn't even want to know how some of the feathers got into their mouth as Erebus currently supported a mouthful of them. If Severus had not known he was in the boys' dormitory, he'd have thought he'd just stepped through a scene where two large white chickens were in the midst of a fight. He blinked a few times to make sure that he was indeed staring at two of his students before bursting into laughter.

Erebus and Draco stared at each other and saw how ridiculous they both looked before joining their professor for a well deserved laugh. It took a good deal of time before Severus managed to contain himself and stood upright once more in more presentable manner, though a chuckle or two still escaped from him.

"I'm glad both of you found another _attractive_ way to use pillows, but I'm afraid you're going to have to cut this party short as it's three in the morning. So unless you want to find yourselves scrubbing cauldrons because your professors caught you dozing off in class, I suggest you get to bed this instance!" intoned Severus, barely containing his humour.

Erebus gagged as he spat the feathers out from his mouth, making Severus roll his eyes and give him a firm tap on the back to help him get rid of any remaining feathers. "Thanks," he mumbled soon after.

Severus pulled his wand from within his dark blue pyjamas and magically removed the feathers all over the room; even those that found their way into Draco's well gelled hair.

"Get to bed, boys. You have classes tomorrow," said Severus

Erebus and Draco made their way to their respective beds and allowed their gentle folds to lull them to sleep. Severus made his way towards the boys and tucked them both in, something he wouldn't be caught dead doing by other than his family.

"G'night, Uncle Sev…" mumbled Draco, snuggling deeper into his warm duvet.

"Goodnight, Draco," said Severus, planting a kiss on the boy's forehead.

Once he got to Erebus' bed, he noticed that the boy was still wide awake. "Go to sleep, Erebus, you have classes tomorrow."

"No m…m...morning classes," argued the boy, fighting the tugs of sleep.

"That is no excuse for a child your age to sleep this late." Severus pulled the covers all the way up to Erebus' chin and tucked it around the boy.

"Uncle Sev…" Erebus said softly, sounding like someone much younger than his actual age.

"Yes, Reby?" Severus stood straighter at the tone of his godson's voice. Erebus stared glazy eyed at his godfather but didn't make a fuss at the nickname given to him by his many uncles, something that didn't go amiss by the ever observant man.

"Erebus…" prompted Severus when the child wouldn't reply.

"Nothing, Uncle Sev," said Erebus turning to his side, his eyes slowing fluttering to a close, "G'night."

Severus sighed heavily but let the whole thing go. He'd let his godson deal with whatever was bothering him for now, but once it started to get in the way with his well-being, he'd press the boy no matter how many curses where thrown at him.

"Alright, Erebus, goodnight," Severus planted a kiss on the boy's forehead before extinguishing the lights and getting out of the room to get a well deserved goodnight's rest, which he would greatly need for his Slytherin and Gryffindor third year class tomorrow.

_**sSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSs**_

"Why so tense, Amanda?" asked Draco as they were making their way out of their final Charms class for the week.

"Isn't it obvious why?" said Amanda, fumbling with her book bag.

"Amanda, flying won't kill you," Erebus tried to assure his friend without lifting his head from the Transfiguration book he was reading. All Slytherin first years together with Gryffindors were to have their first introductory class in broomstick flying later in the afternoon, a pointless thing to do in Erebus' opinion but it seemed to be bothering their friend.

"Way the go to put that thought in my head. I'm nervous enough as it is!" snapped an irritated Amanda.

Draco halted in front of his friend before she could have a nervous breakdown in front of the entire castle. "Look, flying comes naturally for most witches and wizards. It's just something most of us have a talent in. Why'd you think Quidditch is such a big sport?"

"What if I'm not included in those most witches and wizards you mentioned?" countered the red haired girl at once.

"Look at Erebus here for example," Draco tilted his head towards his cousin who still had his head buried in his textbook.

"Now what about me, Draco? Can't we simply go through a day without you including me in all your futile attempts at explanation?" Erebus snapped his book shut to glare at the blonde.

Draco ignored Erebus and continued, "He has such a talent in Quidditch but he prefers to read and duel. I'd bet all the gold in my trust fund that if Erebus agrees to play for the Slytherin team, The Quidditch cup will be ours for seven whole years."

"That's a lot to bet on, Ray, I doubt even Uncle Luc would approve you splurging all that money at once. And I, for one, am not that good of a player. You try out for the team if you want," said Erebus.

"Oh I definitely will try out for the team. I want to see that stupid smirk Potter has on his face removed once we beat his dream team," said Draco dreamily.

The pitch was already filled with eagerly awaiting students by the time the Slytherin trio got there. Amanda's nerves were on the brink of a breakdown while Erebus simply had a bored expression on his face. Weasley and his gang were huddled in the middle of the field when they started pointing at Erebus, laughing as they did so. Erebus paid no attention to them; direct insults on his person never worked or bothered him. But it seemed that Draco had other ideas as he was all about prepared to march up at Weasley and show him a piece of his mind had Erebus not flung an arm across the blonde's body to prevent him from lunging at Weasley and stirred him towards the Slytherin side of the pitch, away from the blasted Gryffindors.

"Let them be, Ray, we're better than them. We were raised to show respect, even to those who do not deserve our respect. We do not sink into the lines of the impoverished." Erebus made sure to sneer at the direction of the Gryffindors as he said this.

Draco tugged free from Erebus' hold and straightened out the wrinkles in his robe but that didn't stop him from glaring at the red haired boy. Oh if looks could kill…

Before a brawl between the two Houses ensued, the flying instructor, Madam Hooch, a witch with very tangled wind swept hair arrived with a bundle of brooms tucked under her arms.

"Are broomsticks supposed to look like that?" Amanda pointed out the brooms that the Madam was lying out beside each of them, most of which had splintering handles and bushed up twigs that pointed in all sorts of attention.

"Absolutely not!" came Draco's scandalized voice, "Those look like they might have come to the school during my grandfather's time. They look ancient. Wait till Father hears about this! The governors give the school a yearly budget to help maintain its high standards, don't tell me Dumbledore can't spare some of it to buy newer, better brooms?!"

"Alright, class," barked Hooch above all the excited voices, "Welcome to your first flying lesson. I'm Madam Hooch, flying instructor and Hogwarts' Quidditch expert. Now I want all of you to step on the right side of your broom. Hurry now. Get Up. Good."

Erebus stared at his broom which looked like it wouldn't last another semester. He didn't hate flying; he was actually pretty good in the air and was a damn good Seeker due to his mother's rigorous drills and trainings. In fact he could try for all the positions in the team and he was positive he could get them all. The only problem was that he absolutely had no interest in playing Quidditch. Sure, he could get lost debating tactics with Draco but that was as far as he would go when it came to the wizarding world's most crazed sport. It was much more exhilarating sinking into the shadow worlds with his mother or flying unaided with his father.

"Now," Hooch continued. "Place your right hand above the broom and say 'Up!'"

There was a chorus of 'Up!'s but not many brooms did actually fly up. Erebus' did. He gripped it and hardly looked surprised. Amanda's one was just rolling around while Draco's got up on the second try. Pansy and Millicent had to try a few more times before it got up. Blaise's came up on the third try. On the Gryffindor side, a loud crack sounded as Weasley's broom collided with his nose. Longbottom's broom didn't even move.

"How come every broom you try listens to you so easily and you still don't like flying?" the blonde asked the raven-haired boy irritably.

"Flying is boring," Erebus answered flatly, making Draco frown and mutter rapidly under his breath. Erebus did not bother figuring out what the other boy was saying, Draco always did say the same things when out done by someone else.

Madam Hooch walked towards the students who didn't manage to get their brooms to respond and instructed them on the proper to way to hold a broom. Finally she grabbed her own broom, a Cleansweep by the looks of it, definitely newer and better than the students'.

"Alright, on three you will stomp away from the ground but keep yourself not too far up. One, two and three!"

A blur of green and red all pushed off the ground and into the air. Living up to their reckless reputation, the Gryffindors all tried doing ridiculously dangerous stunts, which they mostly learnt from magazines or Quidditch matches, for Erebus knew none of them would be able to do them on their own. Salazar, even Longbottom went out to try a divide, which of course ended with him holding onto his broom for dear life. Erebus tried to avoid the Gryffindors as mush as possible and simply hovered above them, watching, much like an eagle would a rat, as some of them made a fool of themselves.

"Hey, Riddle, you think you're above us all just because you're up there?!" shouted Weasley when he saw him, his nose slightly bent due to his earlier collision with his broom.

"Well technically when one is flying above everyone else, he is above. You can't possibly call it flying below everyone, now can you, Weasley? That alone goes against all laws of physics, not that you'd know anything about that…" said Erebus, ignoring Weasley's rapidly reddening face.

"You think you're better than us because you're rich? Well I think you're a Death Eater spawn just like the rest of your House! We're better off without you; I don't know why the Ministry still insists that your House remains. You're all clearly Death Eater wannabes." Weasley was jerkily speeding to where Erebus was hovering.

Erebus' handsome features took a darker look but Weasley was obviously too thick to register that charging at the Slytherin wasn't a good idea.

Draco saw the whole scene unfold from below and watched in alarm as Weasley came zooming towards Erebus in speeds that, by all logic, he shouldn't be able to accomplish in such a shabby broom. He turned his sights for the dark haired boy and was extremely surprised to find him staring calmly at the danger idiotically speeding towards him in an uncontrolled barrel roll. He knew that Erebus took great thrill in death defying stunts but this was a stupid Gryffindor barreling towards him at 50 feet above the ground, and no one was here to bring him back to life!

And then something happened that Draco did not expect to occur. Just as Weasley was a few centimeters from him, Erebus, as casually as you may, gracefully swerved to the side and out of reach of the speeding killer. Weasley seemed to have realized that he had missed his intended target and tried to pull off a sharp turn to get back – that was when everything went wrong.

It was clear to everyone that was watching the horrors above that Weasley was not as adept at flying as he supposedly said he was when his broom handle snapped, veering off in a dangerous angle towards a group of students hovering to the right. The students all shattered in different directions at the sight of the out of control Gryffindor. However one student was petrified on her broom, too scared to even move away from danger. Fifty meters up, Weasley flew past her, causing her to lose her grip on her broom, sending her spiraling down the ground at a neck breaking speed.

"EREBUS," screamed Draco above all the other screaming students, too far from the girl to do anything, "AMANDA!" But he need not have screamed since at that exact moment, another dark blur was speeding towards his free falling friend.

Erebus knew that he was pushing the school broom way past its limit, but if he didn't go any faster, his friend would surely die and Weasley would have to flee the country, for Erebus would make sure that the Gryffindor experienced first hand why he was the Prince of Darkness.

"Come on," Erebus urged his broom as he shot closer to her. He followed her path, his body bent so close to the broom he could hardly be seen, and soon reached her. He flew below her then quickly, with the seeming ease of a natural flyer, brought his broom vertical again and swiftly caught her by the length of her arm. Unfortunately, with the momentum they were in and the fact that Erebus was too small to hold up the sudden weight, they went careening faster towards the ground.

A crash was inevitable, that Erebus was sure of, therefore he did the best he could in the situation, better for only one of them to get hurt than to have them both sent to the Hospital Wing. Erebus put all his weight to the nose of the broom and wrapped his body around Amanda's thin frame. Seconds later they came crashing to the ground, being dragged a couple more meters before grinding into a halt.

Draco was the first to land, literally jumping off of his broom to get to them, Madam Hooch trailing not far behind, her face white in horror.

"Erebus, Amanda!" Draco knelt down before the crumpled pair and gasped. In less than those few seconds they had before falling to the ground, Erebus had cast a shield charm around them. Unfortunately, it had been done in haste and was not as effective, protecting only one of the pair. Still wrapped around Erebus' arms, Amanda moaned. She was pale but there seemed to be nothing but a few bruises on her and a case of shock.

Erebus on the other hand –

"Mr. Zabini, get Madam Pomfrey at once!" Hooch shouted, levitating the bleeding boy into a stretcher.

"I'm fine," argued Erebus, pushing himself off the stretcher. But the moment he lifted his head, his vision started to swim and he collapsed into the stretcher once more.

"Nonsense, Mr. Riddle, you are going to go to the Infirmary and have the matron check that head of yours. You're bleeding, for Merlin's sake," said Hooch.

The group of Slytherin first years trudged up the pitch, trailing the floating stretcher that was being kept afloat by Madam Hooch. The Gryffindors were all hauled up around Weasley who was staring wide eyed at the stretcher.

"What happened here?" asked Madam Pomfrey, greeting the group outside the Infirmary doors.

"Fell of my broom, ma'am," answered Erebus before anyone else could.

Pomfrey frowned and ushered the group into the Infirmary and led Erebus into one of the beds furthest from the door. She quickly ran her wand down the boy and watched as her diagnosis appeared in mid-air.

"The bleeding is due to the concussion he's suffered and he has a number of scraps and bruises. These are not from a simple fall off the broom," Pomfrey read the diagnosis with a scowl.

"Poppy, I'm leaving Mr. Riddle and Ms. Michaels in your care. I still have a punishment to dish out on a certain reckless Gryffindor," said Hooch, leaving the premises.

Pompfrey nodded and shooed the rest of the students out except for the three in her care. Once the others were gone, she sealed the door and marched towards the potions cabinet to retrieve the necessary potions.

"You saved me," said Amanda shakily, sitting on the bed beside Erebus.

"Yeah, and nearly got yourself killed in the process," said Draco, "Very noble of you."

"Don't you trust me and my flying abilities? I've suffered from worse crashes than this," said the raven haired boy.

"That's different!" came a very angry voice, "Here you don't have your parents who succeed in keeping your heart beating."

The three of them turned and saw that Severus had come and he was none to please with his godson's condition.

"Uncle Sev…" mumbled Erebus timidly.

"Don't you Uncle Sev me, young man! You are never to do that again, do you hear me?" cried Severus, wagging a long finger at the boy.

"But Sev, would you just let me watch Amanda die without doing anything?"

"Madam Hooch is more than capable of handling accidents in her class!" said Severus, his arms crossed. "You do know your mother's going to be told of this, right?"

"Yes," mumbled Erebus, head bowed down.

"She is not going to be pleased with this latest stunt," pressed Severus.

"I know…" sighed the boy

"And neither am I."

Erebus' eyes widen. He knew that voice. Heck, he'd been hoping to hear it again soon. But never in a hundred years would he expect to hear that voice here, in Dumbledore's school, of all places. He slowly lifted his head and there was no mistaking the red eyes that flashed dangerously at him for anyone else's.

_Oh Salazar, help me!_ he cursed loudly in his head. "Father!"

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A/N: You know what to do....

Read and review...

til next post....

**_dan4eva_**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** I recently just got an accident and as a result, i fractured my left wrist and it's in a cast right now. Hopefully by the next couple of weeks it'll be removed, but i doubt it. So this woulc probably my last post for now until i gain use of both my hands to write a decent chapter....

Enjoy, it has a father and son scene in it that shows a different side to Erebus..... Plus a potion scene that gets our favourite know it all.....

**Disclaimer:** not mine...

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**Chapter 7**

_Oh Salazar, help me!_ he cursed loudly in his head. "Father!"

"Tom," Severus nodded his head subtly in greeting.

Tom Riddle, a.k.a. the Dark Lord Voldermort, stood rigidly by the Infirmary doors, staring down at his injured son with something akin to worry and anger in his blood red eyes. Erebus tried not to flinch at the look his father was giving him.

"Professor Quirrell?" said Amanda incredulously, staring at the stuttering Defence teacher, breaking the locked look between father and son.

Voldemort switched his gaze towards the girl and Amanda couldn't help but shudder in fear at the sight of those piercing red eyes she'd only read of in books. But then the professor must have sensed her fear and his gaze quickly softened, though there was still a hint of their earlier intensity, they weren't as frightening as before.

"You must be Ms. Michaels," stated Voldemort, his voice surprisingly as smooth as velvet.

Amanda nodded in acknowledgement, not able to speak before the professor who's supposed to be the most feared dark wizard in a century. Voldemort did not seem surprised at the girl's reaction; in fact he found it amusing that the girl had not yet started screaming in fear. After all, he was supposed to be dead.

The Dark Lord's gaze then moved towards the blonde boy sitting on the foot of his son's bed. Young Malfoy had a smirk playing on his face, though when he realized that the Dark Lord was now staring at him, Draco's smirk was wiped clean only to be replaced by a look utter innocence Voldemort had seen far too many times on both him and his son's face when caught doing something they should not have done in the first place.

"My Lord," said Draco softly in respect.

Before anything else could be said again, Madam Pomfrey had returned from her perusal of her Potions cabinet with a tray full of vials. She took one look at the suddenly larger group by Erebus' bed and placed her laden tray on the bedside counter.

"Tom," the matron was surprised to find the man out in the present company, but then again, the Dark Lord was known within the Dark as a fierce, protective man and it was his son currently lying on an Infirmary bed. No one could say that just because Poppy Pomfrey worked inside the Infirmary walls all day, she was oblivious to everything that transpired around her. As a matter of fact, it was exactly the opposite of that, for Poppy Pomfrey knew all the secrets that otherwise would not have found themselves out of the Infirmary doors.

She had known both Tom and Lily and most of the Circle whilst they where students in the castle and had kept close contact with them, knowing full well what they would all later become. But perhaps it was because she did know them personally that she was able to accept what the others could not. She knew of every scar that could be found and what had caused that scar, but most especially, she knew of the trials they had all gone through in life. It was she who had nursed them after they returned from their abusive homes and through the years those people had come to regard her as their honorary mother and she in turn regarded them as her children and grandchildren. When the first war broke, she ached to know that her children were all out there fighting but she knew she could not stop them. They believed in something greater than all of them; a better world where the future generations would not have to suffer what they had gone through. Therefore she did what she knew best, she cared for them. Although she was under the employment of Albus Dumbledore and was obligated to help the Order, her heart was with the red eyed man and his cause. She, without the knowledge of Dumbledore, nursed the Dark. Without her, she knew she would have lost all of her children in the war and destroyed that dream they'd all been dreaming of.

"It is unwise for you to be here," she chastised, hand on her hips and staring at Voldemort/Quirrell.

"Yes, well, if someone here had just stuck to flying safely, I wouldn't even be here." said the Dark Lord, glancing at his son.

Poppy took pity at the fidgeting child and moved to stand between father and son, immediately saving the child from his father's stares.

"Not more than four visitors at a time but I'll make an exception just this once. This boy, as much as he'd like me to believe that he fell off his broom, did not fall off his broom for he has a fractured wrist, a bad concussion and numerous scrapes and bruises all over his body," said the matron curtly.

"But I don't feel any of those, I –" complained the boy.

"Not another word, young man," It was strange to hear the Dark Lord's stern voice coming from the mouth of the stuttering professor, but it silenced his son's protest nonetheless.

"I'm pretty sure that once the shock of your accident wears off, you'd feel them all just fine," Madam Pomfrey replied, busily preparing the potions he was sure to have to drink.

"Figures," mumbled Draco, "Only you could find thrill in falling fifty feet above the ground."

But before Draco could even register what he had said, Severus was already beside himself.

"Fifty feet?!" he cried loudly, causing all three children to flinch involuntarily.

A firm hand was suddenly placed on his right shoulder and he heard the Dark Lord speaking. "Severus, take the children back to their common room, I'll deal with my _son_." At that final word, Lord Voldemort looked at his son again. Erebus gulped, even though his father was in the body of another wizard, his personality still seem to radiate and dominate the room.

He tried to look at the matron for help but all she did was smile empathically at him and give his uninjured a gentle squeeze. "You'll be fine. You know your father, he's just mad you got injured despite all the protections he's put in place." she whispered softly in his ears.

Severus took a deep breath, trying to steady his flaring emotions. "Very well, come now, Draco, Ms. Michaels." He ushered an apologetic Draco and a dazed looking Amanda out of the Infirmary. Once only father and son were left, Voldemort removed the distance between them and sat on the chair beside the bed.

"Father … Dad …" mumbled Erebus, uncomfortable under the stern eyes of his father.

"Drink your potions first." Tom allowed the matron to administer the potions to his son but he took the balm and insisted that he would do it instead. Madam Pomfrey relented then left for her office as soon as she was sure that Erebus would make a full recovery and left father and son alone once more.

Voldemort rubbed the sticky balm onto his son's bruises with unexpected ease and care none would have expected to come from a Dark Lord such as him.

"Are you angry with me?" asked Erebus, his father could always reduce him back into being a five year old when angry.

"That depends on what you did," replied the Dark Lord coolly, not meeting the boy's eyes, and continued to apply the balm on his son's injuries. Erebus winced as his father rubbed at a particularly sore spot on his back.

He sighed, it was extremely hopeless to try and hide something from his father so he didn't even try. "I dove down with the broomstick to try and catch Amanda before she fell to the ground and die. The sudden weight caused me to lose control and before we hit the ground, I decided that it would be better to have only one of us injured than have both of us injured."

Voldemort lifted his gaze back towards his son and said calmly, "_'Me instead of all of us'_ that was a very Gryffindor way of thinking."

At that pronouncement Erebus felt a huge lump stuck in his throat. _Gryffindor._ His father was accusing him of acting like a Gryffindor. Did that mean he was disappointed in him? Thought him not worthy to carry his name? Erebus forced his features to contour into indifference instead of grief; it wouldn't do well to prove to his father of his apparent weakness.

Voldemort looked at his son's controlled features and knew instantly what he was thinking. There were times when he would forget that other than his son being exactly like him, Erebus was also very much like his mother. Lily too, when they were younger, constantly sought for his approval and refused to show weakness before him for fear that he would think less of her; something he'd finally curbed her out of in the last few years. But it looks like their son had inherited that trait as well. He sighed.

"Look at me, son," he said gently, raising the child's chin so that they were face to face. His son's glazed; tear brimmed eyes demolished whatever remaining stoicism he'd had earlier. This child of his was definitely putting his reputation at risk; it's a good thing no one really knows where he currently is.

"I am not angry, disappointed or anything else you think I think of you at the moment."

"But you just said –"

"I said that it was a very Gryffindor way of thinking," said Voldemort, "That doesn't mean I see or think of you any less. You are my son and I will always be proud of you."

"But you loathe Gryffindors," argued his son.

"In general, yes. Everyone in the family does. But remember this, child, not all Slytherins are evil and definitely not all Gryffindors are good, I'd be damned if they were. A little trait from each House does not make you any less of who you are; in fact it makes exactly who you are as a person."

"I'd be much more disappointed in you had you not saved Ms. Michaels." Voldemort placed the balm he'd been applying on the boys' skin back on the side table and sat on Erebus' bed so that his son was comfortably in his arms.

"But Uncle Sev said…" Erebus scooted closer to the man. When he'd first seen his father in another person's body, it felt weird and awkward. But then he learnt that if he thought hard enough, he could just feel the same strong arms that held him when he was only an infant.

"Oh forget what that greasy bat said, he must have inhaled toxic fumes again hauled up in that lab of his," said the Dark Lord, eliciting the first true laugh his son had had the past few days.

"He's just worried about you. So I do not want you attempting that kind of stunt again. There are other, much safer means to save a friend. You have no idea how scared I was when Morty popped into my room and told me you had had an accident."

"I'll try – wait – did you just say Morty? What's he doing here?" asked Erebus, talking about one of his father's favourite house elves.

"Did you honestly expect me to stay here and entrust myself in the care of one of the school's house elves?" Voldemort questioned his son.

"I guess not. But what are you doing here in the first place? And disguised as a professor of all things. Have you found something to… you know…" Erebus used his uninjured had to gesture at his father's borrowed body. He never did like the fact that the present Headmaster stripped his father off of his body.

"I may or I may not. But you are not to go snooping around to try and help me. Promise me," said the Tom at once, seeing the flare of fire in his son's green and red eyes.

Erebus pouted in a manner only he could but did not protest. He would find one way or another, whatever it was that brought his father here. That way he would no longer have to leave every now and then and they could be a family again, like what they had planned before Dumbledore came into the picture.

"Erebus…" Voldemort intoned when his son did not answer.

"I promise, father." _T__hat you won't catch us. _

"Very well," said the Dark Lord, knowing that he'd have to keep a closer eye on his son and his friends. He got up from the bed to immediate protest from his son. "I've got to go."

"Do you have to?" whined the dark haired boy.

"Yes. I've got to get back to my office before Dumbledore starts to suspect something; then all of our plans will be ruined."

"Can I visit you?" pleaded Erebus.

"Maybe. But I'd prefer if you'd go to Severus first before contacting me. I'm not your professor after all, what would you be doing in my office?"

"Begging you to teach us instead of Potter?" offered his child.

Voldemort laughed heartily, ruffling his son's mop affectionately. "We'll see about that. G…g…good day, Mr. R…R…Riddle."

Erebus' eyes shone with mirth. "Good day to you too, Professor."

_**sSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSs**_

He was speeding through the dungeon corridors as fast as his legs could carry him. He was very, very late for his first Potions class and he'd been waiting for this class the most the entire week. To say that his mother was mad when she found out was like saying his Uncle Sev merely disliked Potter; a complete and utter understatement. It was right after dinner when Madam Pomfrey had finally removed the tray of his half finished dinner that his Contact Orb began glowing and vibrating madly. He knew that Sev never threatened halfway and when he said that his mother would be alerted of his latest stunt, there was no doubt that the Dark Lady would not be alerted.

Erebus knew the kind of reception he would be getting from his mother but it had still been a most unpleasant hour with her yelling and berating him, telling him that she had not raised him only to have himself killed the moment he was out of her sight. There was no beating his mother when it came to raging tempers and most of the Dark had learnt throughout the years what could easily set of the fiery woman off and avoided them like the plague. There were even a few occasions in his youth that he could remember seeing his own father subjected under his mother's lovely temperament.

Therefore Lily only managed to slow down when she caught sight of her only child, fidgeting uncomfortable on the bed, his face streaked with tears. Lily released a heavy sigh before the image in the Orb dissolved and the Dark Lady emerged a few seconds later from the darkest corner of the Infirmary. Dressed in a flowing blue night gown, Lily swept towards her son and encased him tightly in her arms. Erebus responded to his mother by burying his tear strewn face into his mother's sweet smelling robes.

"Hush now, child," murmured the witch softly, stroking her son's silky black hair.

"I'm sorry," Erebus was able to mumble against the racking sobs.

"I know you are, sleep now child. I forgive you." Lily sang a soft lullaby she knew would instantly lull her reckless son to sleep and within minutes Lily felt the burden in her hands get heavier and for the breathing to slowly even out. She continued in her singing, slowly rocking her baby in her arms, if only she could take him home and protect him forever. None of them notice the matron watching silently from her office, a smile on her face.

The matron, thought Erebus in exasperation. Bless the elderly witch, but Madam Pomfrey was just way to fussy when it came to him. After all, all of his injuries had healed overnight and only his wrist was still left in a bandage. If he'd not snuck out of the Infirmary while she wasn't looking, he'd probably still be laying on the bed under the watchful eyes of the matron, forced to stare at that damn white ceiling all day.

Severus was halfway through writing down the day's potion ingredients when the wooden dungeon door opened with a loud bang, making a number of vials to shake dangerously in their shelves. He turned angrily towards the student who had the gal to arrive late in his class when he saw his godson, bent double, his cheeks red and panting for breath.

"Mr. Riddle," said Severus sternly, walking towards the boy.

"Sorry, sir," Erebus was able to mumble after catching his breath. Why did the dungeons have to be so far away from the rest of the castle? "Madam Pomfrey got a little too motherly."

Severus nearly grinned – nearly! – for Severus Snape never ever showed more than forced tolerance in front of students other than his own. His eyes though were shining in amusement as he tried to think of how Erebus managed to convince the protective matron to release him before lunch. Though by the way the boy's cheeks were flushed, he must have snuck out from her and ran all the way from the fourth floor down to the second level dungeon where the classrooms were.

"Very well, Mr. Riddle. Go find your seat." Severus strode back towards the front of the class, his dark robes billowing as he went.

Erebus walked through the centre aisle, plainly ignoring the scorching stares he was receiving from the Gryffindors. He knew that if it was them who walked into Severus' class like that, they'd be getting a night's worth of detention and a deduction of Merlin knows how many points depending on the professor's mood. It was no secret that in the lair of the snakes, griffins do not belong.

"I thought you weren't supposed to be released until before the afternoon periods?" asked Amanda once he was seated between his two friends, taking care not to jolt his mending wrist.

"Snuck out." replied Erebus simply, digging his Potions book out of his bag.

"Well, you should have snuck out sooner. Then perhaps you could have seen Mudblood Granger there make a fool of herself," Draco said beside him, tilting his head towards the direction of the Gryffindors.

"Why?" asked Erebus, turning around to find a certain Gryffindor with unnaturally bushed up hair feverishly jotting down what was written on the board. "What did she do?" He looked back between his friends.

"Do you remember the professor's speech?" the blonde asked. Erebus nodded. He knew his godfather's speech by heart, having been tutored by the man since the age of five. And frankly, he found the words to be quite compelling, if not a bit fanatical to some extent.

…_the beauty of softly simmering cauldrons with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through the human veins__, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses…to bottle fame, brew glory and even stopper death…_

"Well after that he started firing his usual quarry of questions. Nothing complicated, basics really, anyone with a half a brain could have answered them if they'd bother to open their books before class. So, not surprisingly, none of the Gryffindorks were able to answer him." There was a snug tone in Draco's voice that told Erebus the blonde greatly enjoyed their embarrassment.

"So naturally the professor got mad that none of them were able to supply him with anything other than a gob smacked expression," said Amanda, happily taking over the retelling of the events from Draco.

"That was when Granger, whom the professor had been ignoring throughout his grilling of the Gryffindorks, mind you, stood up and blurted out all of the answers as if they were train carts exiting a tunnel, that being her mouth!" exclaimed Draco quietly, trying to keep his voice low.

"Then the professor had this look on his face as if he'd just step into a pile of dung. He then started telling everyone that she was a ratty know-it-all and for all the correct answers she said, the professor deducted twenty points from Gryffindork which fortunately shut her and her House for good." Amanda concluded.

Erebus was fighting the urge not to laugh out loud, an action he was sure was going to irritate the Gryffindorks, and instead focused on reading the ingredients on the board. Oh, he would do anything if he could see Granger's reaction first hand. He'd taken an extreme dislike of her the moment he saw her in the train and opened her mouth, and finding out that she was an attention seeking know-it-all made Erebus all the more happy to continue disliking her. Hogwarts was not big enough for two excellent students and Erebus was positive he was the better of the two; he was after all a pureblood and she a mere… He didn't even want to think about comparing himself to the likes of her.

By the time the three of them had finished their little discussion, half the class was already making their way to the store cupboard. One of the Gryffindorks, a dark skinned boy Erebus recognized to belong to Weasley's band of idiots, was staring at Erebus with an angry expression on his face. In return, Erebus glared back at him with a look that clearly meant _'quit staring at me or you'll meet the business end of my wand!'_ which promptly sent the idiot back on the course of the Student Store cupboard.

Severus was striding towards their table when Erebus turn to look back at the front of the class and he had a customary frown on his face. "Quit chattering you three before I curse the next Gryffindor to ask me why I'm ignoring your obvious inattentiveness," he said.

"Sorry, sir," they mumbled apologetically.

Severus nodded his head in acceptance and continued to address the three. "Erebus, now I know you and Draco are able to brew the Boil Cure Potion perfectly so I'm exempting the both of you from performing today's potion." He rolled his eyes at the delighted expressions on both the boys' faces. "However that does not mean you are going to do nothing but chatter away. I'd already asked you to perform an analysis of this Potion in the summer so now I want you to use the information you've gathered to make improvements on the Potion. It doesn't have to be a major improvement, changing its colour or its odour will do just fine. And at the end I want a detailed explanation on why you used that ingredient and method to alter the potion."

Both boys groaned in displeasure at the task he'd set them out to do. Maybe that would make them remember that he did not tolerate inattentiveness in his class, even from them, his surrogate sons. It was true that Severus Snape favoured his students more than any other House but that did not mean they had it any easier. In fact if one would ask a former student of his, they would tell you that their Head of House demanded higher expectations from all of his students. But of course at the end of the year, when they would receive their report cards, they would all come see that he was only doing this for their own good, something none of the other Houses, even none of the other teachers have ever realized.

"Ms. Michaels, you on the other hand are required to accomplish today's task. If you require any help, just ask the boys," Severus said, turning to the girl.

"Yes, sir," said Amanda, sending a sympathetic look towards the boys.

Soon Severus was moving back to his desk at the front of the classroom and was surveying his students to make sure they did not do any damage to his stores; with Gryffindors in his classroom, you never know what you're going to get.

Erebus walked to the store cupboard while running through his head the ingredients and methods he could use to alter the Potion without causing a negative reaction. He was so deep in thought that he failed to notice a bushy haired girl standing next to him, watching him. He scanned the cupboard for the best quality dried nettles and porcupine needles the other students obviously didn't know how to look for and placed them on his arms. But as he was about to reach out for a bottle of Graphorn hair and bubotuber, a hand grabbed his, nearly upsetting the other bottles of ingredients in his arm.

"Those are not the ingredients of the potion the professor assigned us!" a pitchy voice said to his right. "Didn't you read the board?"

Erebus closed his eyes, controlling the irritation that was threatening to lash out at the Gryffindork. "Mind your own business, Granger, before I commit something that you're going to regret." He swerved to get a look at her and was met with an officious look. His multi-coloured eyes shifted lower and saw to his utter disgust that the Mudblood still had her filthy hands on his.

"Get your filthy hand off me, Mudblood!" he growled in deride, pulling his hands as swiftly as he could.

Midway through the double period, Erebus took a quick glance at the Gryffindork side of the room and found that Granger was too huddled up in her work and was muttering rapidly under her breath. He didn't have to look twice to know that the Mudblood was up to something. It was just uncharacteristic of a first year to be so caught up in their first Potions class, what more someone who had never done this before and obviously had no idea why certain herbs reacted differently to boiling water. Unfortunately he did not have enough time to keep an eye on the Gryffindork as he was now on the crucial stage of his brewing.

One by one, he delicately dropped the porcupine needles into the softly simmering concoction. If a student ever tried adding the porcupine needles whilst the fire was still on, it would definitely ruin the potion and possibly produce a mixture of rancid smoke that is very harmful. However since Severus had asked him to modify the potion, he'd added an ounce of diluted bubotuber pus to the mixture beforehand to enhance its ability to reduce the boils as bubotuber pus was often used in shrinking solutions. With the presence of the bubotuber pus, it also countered the reaction of the needles to the boiling liquid, but there was still a chance for the needles to react badly to the potion if not handled properly. So it was with great care that he added the last bunch of porcupine needles to his cauldron when he heard a shriek and before he knew it an explosion had occurred.

The whole potions classroom was soon overcome by the nastiest stench you could ever imagine. It smelled of dragon manure that had been left for weeks to decompose, rotten fish and eggs mixed together, it would make even the toughest constitution gag. It was taking very much of Erebus' control not to follow suit and spill out what little he'd eaten for breakfast on the stone floor.

Fortunately someone had cast a Refreshing Charm and soon the rancid air was subsiding, though with the amount of sick that was all over the floor, it still smelled just as bad.

"Who did this?" shouted the professor over the cries of the other students. Erebus bent down to help a green faced Amanda off the floor and watched as his godfather strode menacingly towards Granger and Longbottom, both who seem to have received the full blow of the explosion as both of them were covered in ghastly orange boils.

"Granger!" he did not have to scream for the coldness of his voice and the deadly glare in his eyes more than made up for his lack of force. The said girl whined while Longbottom looked like we wanted nothing more than to disappear, the way he was pressed against the stone walls. Severus walked deliberately towards the damaged cauldron to see if there was still a trace of the potion he could analyze to determine what the stupid girl had done wrong. He grabbed a stray ladle from one of the still standing tables and scooped up the little remains of the destructive concoction. One whiff told him all he needed to know and he once again glared at the two offending students.

"Ms. Granger, I know you have a problem with keeping answers to yourself," he sneered. "But I did not know you were dyslectic as well!"

"Sir –" Granger started only to be snapped at by the extremely irate professor.

"Did I write somewhere in my instructions, that I clearly wrote on the board, that you are to add bubotuber pus and Graphorn hair into the mixture?"

Erebus eyes widened. Those were the ingredients he'd used to modify his potion. Was it possible that Granger took those same ingredients to figure out what he was up to? His brows furrowed at the question.

"Are you trying to prove to us that you know better by mixing ingredients you have no idea of?" the professor ranted on, ignoring the fact the girl was already crying, whether in pain of the boils or not, the professor seem not to care.

"No, sir." cried Granger desperately.

"Because of your ridiculous notions of higher intellect, you destroyed half of my classroom, ruined valuable potions ingredients, and endangered your fellow classmates. Those whose potions were ruined today by Ms. Granger's lack of judgement will receive no grade for today's activity."

An upheaval of disapproval quickly followed this pronouncement. But it was probably just luck that only the Gryffindor side of the class was affected by the explosion.

"Maybe that will teach your classmate here that transgression in my class merits severely and not only will that person suffer greatly by my hand, but so will the class. So the next time you all try to experiment here in my class, remember that all of you will be affected! Fifty points from Gryffindor."

"Now for those of you whose potions were salvaged, bottle them then place them here on my desk. Make sure you name them for I am no Seer and cannot know who made the potion."

The Slytherins busied themselves with bottling their potions and soon a scurry of feet to get their potions on the professor's table could be heard. The Gryffindors on the other hand were scowling, trying to remove the guck that had clung onto their robes and throwing angry rumblings at the sobbing girl.

"Ms. Granger, as punishment, you and Mr. Longbottom are to head up to the Hospital Wing unaided. If I hear that you had your boils removed before you reach the Infirmary, you'll think that this was all a walk in the park compared to what I have in mind for you if you disobey me again," the professor said once the class was settled once more. "Class dismissed."

Before Erebus left the half destroyed classroom, he turned to look at his godfather and saw him slumped crossly on his desk, his hands rubbing at his temples.

_**sSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSs**_

"You know it's only now that I fully appreciate the true importance of weekends," said Draco, draped over a couch in the Slytherin Common room.

"Really, Draco, only now? What did you think weekends were for before, a whole day to fix your hair?" Amanda was sitting across from the couch and was petting Velvet, her fluffy black cat.

"Very funny, Amanda. But what I meant was that I'm glad it's finally the weekend. All you have to do is look at the first week we've had and you'd be extremely glad too that it's finally Saturday," said Draco in a-matter-of-fact tone of voice.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. It's kind of surprising that I only met you guys last week and on that the same week I found out who I really am," said Amanda, a far-away look upon her.

"By the way, have you seen Erebus? He wasn't in our dorm when I woke up and I've been meaning to talk to him." Draco sat up straight and searched the packed common room for his dark haired friend.

"He said something about heading down to meet Professor Snape," said Amanda, going back to playing with her cat. Velvet meowed playfully as Amanda turned her over on her back and tickled her fleshly underbelly.

Draco groaned, slumping back on the couch.

"What is it that you want to talk about with Erebus? We've been together all week, nothing's happened that Erebus knows nothing of," asked Amanda.

"It's just that I have a feeling that it's because of me that Erebus has been acting strange all week. You know I don't believe the thing he said about losing control in Defence the other day. Do you have any idea how difficult it is not to aggravate him when he's in one of his moods? It's like threading on egg shells; and all because he got the bed near the charmed wall." Draco said.

Amanda couldn't help but snort loudly at Draco's dilemma, which of course did not go unnoticed by the angsting boy.

"What's so funny?" demanded Draco, causing Velvet to hiss angrily at him.

"Oh Draco, Erebus isn't angry because you got the bed furthest from the charmed wall," said Amanda in amusement.

"How'd you know?" inquired Draco, sitting up straight once and leaning forward the couch.

"Draco, he's been playing you up the whole week. You know him longer than I have and you should know how he is when he's bored."

"Wait, wait, what are you trying to say?" cried Draco.

Amanda sighed, "Draco, the professor told him a charm to prevent the rays of light from penetrating the hangings of his bed in the mornings."

"When?!" Draco was on his feet but he never remembered leaving the couch in the first place. Most of the students had started to take notice of the fuss Draco was making.

"On the first day. Now, Draco, will you stop making a fuss out of it?" She looked at the people staring at their corner in the common room. "You weren't hurt at all. In fact I think he's forgotten about the whole thing by now. Give it a rest. At least now it gives you a chance to get even. Simple."

Draco groaned once more and slumped in annoyance back on the couch.

"Good morning, guys!" cried an all too cheery voice from behind Draco causing the blonde to turn and look over his shoulder.

"You!" Draco stood up and walked towards a surprised Erebus.

"What about me?" asked Erebus in confusion but Draco just stood there staring at him. In the end he had to look across Draco's shoulder and turned to ask Amanda what had gotten into their friend.

"He knows about the charm," said Amanda nonchalantly, coaxing Velvet, who had scurried off during Draco's earlier outburst, from under the table.

Draco nodded and glared balefully at the dark haired boy, making Erebus raise his brow in question.

"Honestly, Draco, you're mad at me because of that?" asked Erebus.

"Yes," Draco replied curtly.

Erebus sighed deeply before saying, "Alright, Ray, I'm sorry."

"You should!" Draco had his arms crossed and was looking determinately at Erebus.

"What do you say I lend you the Nimbus 1700 Aunt Bella gave me for my birthday last year as an apology?" suggested Erebus. This offer immediately brightened the young blonde's expression and he'd all forgotten his anger.

"Really? You brought it with you? I though first years weren't allowed to bring broomsticks? I would have brought mine as well." Draco started blurting out.

"No, I didn't bring it. But I could always talk to Camellia; you know she would do anything for us." Erebus had clasped his cousin on the shoulder and was leading him out of the room, Draco looking all excited as they went.

Before they reached the archway, Amanda caught sight of Erebus and he winked playfully at her direction. Amanda rolled her eyes in exasperation at the boys' attitudes and left the sofa she was sitting in, Velvet curled warmly in her hands.

_**sSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSs**_

The Hogwarts Faculty Lounge was mainly a large living room located on the third floor of the castle used by certain members of the faculty when they would rather speak to a student or a fellow co-worker outside their own personal quarters. It was basically a large room filled with mismatched couches, sofas and desk, in the colours of all the four Houses and a good number of shelves that housed most of the books that were too delicate to be placed even in the Restricted Section of the library. To the right side of the room were a brick fireplace and a window that had a wonderful view of the Quidditch pitch. In the middle of the room lay a large circular table that could seat more than twenty people, this was mainly used by the staff during faculty meetings or whenever a member of the staff decided to throw a party, which of course rarely happens.

Presently, only one person occupied the room. Seated comfortably on one of the dozen red couches scattered in the room reading a book was none other than James Potter. His solitude was disrupted when the door to the lounge opened and Remus Lupin appeared, looking surprised to find him there.

"Aren't you supposed to go back home today?" asked Remus making his way through the maze of chairs and desk towards his friend.

"Nah. Maggie took Anthony to go see her parents in Devon," replied James.

"Aren't you supposed to be there as well?" Remus asked, taking a quick peek at the piece of literature that caught his friend's eye, but soon regretted it, forcing the disturbing image from his mind.

"Like it, Remy?" asked James in amusement, seeing his friend's reaction. "It's got pretty interesting details. I'm sure Siri would love it!"

"Thanks. But no thanks," came Remus' hurried reply. "So why aren't you with your wife visiting your in laws?"

"I see them enough during the holidays as it is. I don't need to go all the way there to see them in the school year too," said James, returning to his 'reading'.

"James…" Remus stared after awhile.

"Hmph…" mumbled James, engrossed at his book.

"Have you noticed something about the Riddle kid?" inquired Remus.

"That brat?" said James, folding a page in his book before placing it on the armrest. "What about him?"

"Well, don't you think there's something different about him?" Remus looked at his friend hoping he would understand what he was trying to say.

"Nothing out of the ordinary for now, but as since the brat's a snake, there's bound to be some filth going on in his family. Just look at his last name for Merlin's sake – Riddle! And you and I both know that there's only one person on earth who's got that name and I don't believe for one second that crap _Snivellus _told the Headmaster about the boy's family. That boy's got some real dark heritage. I can feel it," growled James.

"Really, James? With just one look you could see all that in the kid?" said Remus, his brows furrowed. "You didn't feel anything else about the kid? A familiar aura? Nothing?"

"Familiar? I've never even seen the boy before now," said James tersely. "Anyway, what's with all the questions about a Slytherin brat? They'll all end up following the same path in the end anyway. There's nothing we can do to stop them other than protect the others from their influences. That's the only solution we have until the Ministry can figure out a way to chuck the whole lot out."

"Yeah," replied Remus absentmindedly, he still could not get out of his mind that pale, confident boy and his abnormally coloured eyes.

* * *

**A/N:** okay, that's it guys until my arm gets better....

you know the drill...

read and review....

til next post

_**dan4eva**_


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: **I'm really sorry for not being able to update sooner.... My arm was injured and I had a really hard time trying to get into the mind of a seriously mean kid. He may not appear it now, but i've got plans for Erebus that will make him very much the child of two dark lords indeed. This chapter mainly deals with Erebus' growing uneasiness in the company of so many people he hates and he's weaknesses. I've tried not to make him appear all powerul yet because he's still young and have issues that he needs to settle before he can truly embrace his 'evilness'

Again, I'm sorry for the length of this chapter. It's not my longest. But to make it up to you, I've posted a one-shot from the Erebus-verse that gives insight on the things to come. It's a view of Christmas in the Riddle household through the eyes of a yet unnamed character.

**Disclaimer:** Not mine..... i hate repeating that...

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Chapter 8

It was clear to all on Monday morning that the weekend had done nothing to alliviate the memory of their first catastrophic potions class from the mind of their Potions professor, and despite the efforts done by Haeden and his family to subdue the surly man, they knew it was useless; the man was just far too stubborn. Severus was an ardent potion-marker and took pride in the fact that he was the best and youngest Potions Master in all of Europe. He was no longer furious of the explosion, those had occurred far too many times for his liking to actually hold lengthy grudges. No, it was the fact that after dismissing his students, did he find out that half of his stores were ruined – Galleons worth of rare ingredients destroyed due to one stupid Gryffindor! Oh, Salazar it incensed him so.

"He still seems rather pissed off, doesn't he?" asked Amanda once Erebus had turned his gaze back towards their table.

"I would too if a Mudblood like her ruined my ingredients. I heard Sev's last strands of unicorn hair were damaged as well." drawled Draco. "That alone could cost hundreds of Galleons."

"Sev wanted Granger to repay at least a part of the damages but Dumbledore refused, saying the girl was only curious and that shouldn't be held against her." said Erebus. "It's the way the old man's protecting the Gryffindorks that's really got Sev pissed. Instead of punishing them for their mistakes, the Headmaster is shielding them."

The three of them turned in unison to stare at the boisterous Gryffindor table which was oblivious to the glares directed to them by the Slytherin Head. "Especially if they're Mudbloods like her." grumbled Draco in disgust.

"Alright, can we not please ruin the day by filling our heads with Mudblood thoughts?" said Amanda, dropping her gaze. "I heard from Daphne that Flint's holding Quidditch tryouts later on today…"

_**sSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSs**_

A whole month had passed since their very first day of class and so far everything had been consistent. James Potter still was a huge git to all, most especially towards the Slytherins. But fortunately, for all of Potter's efforts to put the Slytherins in the negatives, Severus was there to negate everything and retaliate twice as callous towards the Gryffindors. It was a silent battle between the Head of Slytherin House and the Assistant Defence Professor and it was probably wise of the other professors not to interfere with the feuding of the two childhood rivals; they after all wanted to live long, fulfilling lives. So it was without a doubt that the friction between the two renowned Houses of Hogwarts School was at its worst it had ever been in the last decade. Even the Headmaster found the sudden increase in hostility surprising, but as always, he preferred to keep out of his colleagues' affairs, much to his Deputy's chagrin, who had been trying to no avail to stop them from completely destroying the whole point of the incentive system and doling out detentions as if they were sweets.

As for Remus Lupin, Erebus still could not determine what was different about the man. After his first act of defending the Slytherins on their first day, the werewolf had done nothing more to indicate that he had done so and had gone onto neutral grounds when it came to House politics. He had thrown in a few questions to Erebus about his family on occasions, but other than that, the man had restraint himself from making anymore sidelong glances at the boy; something which the dark haired Slytherin found extremely relieving.

Yet despite all that, the one thing Erebus thought he could handle well, he could not. By now the entire class had noticed his sudden struggle with Defence, one of his fortes, something his fellow Slytherins could not understand. However no matter how many times they brought up the subject, the Prince of Darkness would get touchy and tell the same irritable respond, "I lost control, alright!" And it was because of this, that he had now become the Gryffindorks' favourite target. Whenever they would meet up in the corridors, it could be expected that a few thrashing comments would be thrown back and forth. But it was Weasley and his gang that were pushing him to the brink of his control. He did not mind the comments thrown at him by the other Houses for he'd long been taught to block unnecessary things from his mind and contentedly allowed his friends to defend their House's honour. But somehow his control was always at its thinnest when it came to the blood traitor and his friends.

Erebus had never told anyone but after his first scuffle with Weasley, two more such altercations had occurred, both occasions he was on his own. It was not that he was incapable of defending himself, heck if he wanted to, he could incapacitate the idiots with his eyes close, it was just that he didn't want Dumbledore probing deeper into his family than what was necessary. His family had spent years making sure that the meddling fool could not touch them again and he was not going to be the reason for the downfall of his family. He knew that if he loses his temper in front of the Gryffindorks, Dumbledore would immediately be on his case and all that his parents worked on would crumble.

Erebus was not one to practice the virtue of patience, something his uncles could attest to, but Hogwarts was definitely forcing him to learn the Lightly virtue. It was a very dangerous balancing act being an innocent child and one that wanted nothing more than charge up on the fools. It was literally draining him of his energy and taking a toll on his self-control. He had managed to survive a month without being too conspicuous, but he didn't know how much longer he could keep his problems to himself and he was certain that his godfather would soon confront him of it; nothing ever escaped the eye of the severe man, especially not someone from his own House.

It was not in his nature to seek aid when faced with a problem and he was dreading the day when he would be cornered to come clean. Would he tell of his fears? How pathetic was it that the son of two Dark rulers was scared of a bunch of Gryffindorks finding out his secret. Would his father still find him worthy if he found out? Would he…

Erebus was walking quickly down the halls, it was an hour before curfew but the castle was already bare of the boisterous noise of its student population. Slowly doubting his decision of volunteering to retrieve Amanda's Herbology textbook in the Library, he tried to ignore the sound of his own feet, amplified by the empty hall, making contact with the stone hard floor. As he turned the corner that would take him to the corner leading up to the Library, he could have sworn he heard hushed voices and the rustling of cloaks. With a turn of his head, he was expecting to find students rushing back to their common rooms but he found no one, not even the castle grouch's stupid cat. However his unconventional upbringing had taught him to be much more vigilant and cautious and he therefore gripped the wand underneath his robes and walked in a much stealthier manner.

He was steps away from his destination when he sensed that someone was indeed following him and by the sound of it, they weren't very good at it. He tilted his head to the side and saw from the image reflected on one of the windows that Weasley and his gang were 'quietly' stalking him.

He frowned at the expression he saw on their faces but continued on as if he had not seen them; he had a feeling that this was not going to be good. He quickly rounded a corner and dashed for the shadows, they would never find him there. And sure enough, after awhile, Weasley together with Thomas and Finnigan, quite literally, burst through the corner.

"Where is he?" wondered Weasley, scanning the suddenly empty corridor.

"He turned the corner, we saw him!" cried Finnigan in his annoying drawl.

"Bugger! The snake must have heard us." said Weasley.

_A deaf man would have heard your loud mouth, Weasley!_ thought Erebus in the ensconce of the shadows.

"I keep telling them those Slytherins are a different story altogether! Who's ever heard of a student suddenly disappearing in an empty corridor?" Weasley ranted on, stomping his feet on the ground like a spoiled brat.

"Don't worry Ron, we'll get him next time, he can't run away forever." said Thomas. "We Griffins will catch those slimy snakes soon enough."

"But where did he go?" demanded Finnigan indignantly.

The dark skinned boy patted the Irishman on the shoulder, "I don't know Seamus, but let's get out of here before the professors start patrolling."

The three turned around and headed back the way they came from, still discussing on the ways they could 'catch those slimy snakes". Erebus waited a few more minutes until he was sure certain he was alone once more before walking back out into the light. It seemed that life in the castle was not going to get easier if Weasley was now trying to ambush him. He smiled an evil smile, well two could play at that game; he just had to make sure they didn't remember anything. He was so damn tired of treading waters and letting them walk all over him. Yes, it was time to loosen up just a bit, surely a little mischief wouldn't call on the Headmaster's attention. After all, what Dark could be seen in a little friendly House rivalry?

_**sSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSs**_

"Class, I want you to continue working in pairs and at the end of the week we're gonna have a little challenge to see which one of you has the potential to be a Master Duellist in the future!" the overtly enthusiastic Potter announced before the class.

Erebus sneered at the man's childish behaviour. For a month now all Potter could talk about was how one of them could possibly be the next Master Duellist. He turned to look at Weasley and Longbottom and had to wonder if his uncles had dealt too much of a damage on Potter if he was seeing a future duellist in them.

There was an ongoing rumour in the Slytherin House that Dumbledore was somehow infecting all the Gryffinorks with his eccentric attitude and sooner or later the whole castle would be overrun by pansy robes and knitting patterns! But with the way Potter exclaims excitement in every class about how great the Gryffindorks were doing, he would be the first one to go. It was starting to make him sick how Potter fawns over the idiots like a lovesick man; he was a pureblood after all, hadn't he ever heard of decorum? He would bet this most prized possession that if it were possible for the man to claim the Headship of the House from McGonagall he would take it. The man was obsessed!

"If I have to go through another week hearing about how great duelling is and how one of us has a future in aiding the fight against the Dark as a Master Duellist, I'm going to snuff myself." intoned Draco as they were on their to lunch.

"Can you really do that, Draco? Kill yourself, I mean. Don't you have to hate yourself first before you can end your life?" said Amanda snidely.

"Funny Amanda, very funny." said Draco humourlessly.

"You know I think Dumbledore is getting desperate." offered Erebus, throwing a glare worthy of his godfather at a passing Gryffindor who had flashed him the finger.

"Why'd you say that?" asked Amanda.

"Well for almost a decade now, Mother has had the upper hand in this war. The Order's attempts to bring us down have been futile and I think it's finally getting to the old man. The only thing he ever succeeded in doing was stripping Father off of his body and I don't think he ever anticipated someone to replace the Dark Lord soon after he was defeated." Erebus had lowered his voice at this, keeping his voice at a bare minimum so that only they could hear.

"The emergence of the Dark Lady completely caught him off guard and it's thrown his plans off the window. His influence is still as strong but he knows that if the war doesn't end in this decade, then they'd truly have lost to the Dark. How many more families would willingly allow their love ones to fight in the war before they lose their faith in Dumbledore?"

"So what are you trying to say?" asked Draco.

"I think that Dumbledore, through Potter, is appealing to the younger generation, get them worked up at duelling and fighting so that by the time they graduate and old enough to join the war, he'd have himself an eager bunch of reckless idiots willing to thrown themselves at something that their professors have sugar coated to the point that war is nothing but a glorious way to become a hero." said Erebus, deep in thought.

"He wants to build an army of kids?" Draco exclaimed.

"No," Erebus shook his head. "His supporters would frown upon it if they find out he plans to put children in the fore front of the war, and he needs his supporters. I believe what Dumbledore's doing is that he's building this idea of fighting in their minds so that when the time does come for him to recruit more Order members; he would immediately have himself an eager crowd. What can parents do if from the age of eleven their kids have wanted nothing but to join the war and be glorified?"

"Isn't that like brainwashing?" asked Amanda.

"For no better word, I guess you could call it that." said Erebus.

"Do you think that's why the Dark Lord is here?" asked Draco quietly.

"I don't know, I honestly don't know."

"This is bad." stated Amanda. Erebus and Draco nodded in agreement.

The rest of the day passed by unpleasantly slow and Erebus was more than ready to pull out all of his hair. Whatever made him reject the Dumstrang offer was beyond him! He was sure that Karkaroff, being a follower of his parents if not a bit questionable at times, would never allow hooligans into his school, much less those of undesirable parentage. It irked him so to be surrounded by so much Mudbloods and blood traitors and to know that they held more weight in the castle population; it was more than enough to drive any self-respecting Dark wizard to the edge. If it weren't for his family, he'd have blasted them all long ago.

But then he also knew that Dumstrang had nothing to teach him that he didn't already know, or if there was, it was nothing the Circle could not teach him. And he would rather go to Hogwarts than attend Beauxbatons. So whether he liked it or not, he had no other choice but submit himself to the filth Hogwarts kept.

He mumbled spitefully in Parseltongue, and as fate may have it, it was just at that precise moment that Weasley, surprisingly by himself, appeared.

"Hey Riddle!" he cried loudly.

Erebus' head snapped sharply towards the voice, his face a mask of cool indifference, though his insides were in turmoil. _Did he hear me?_

"Lost are we, Weasley?" pronounced Erebus smoothly.

"You were hissing!" said Weasley, marching towards the Slytherin.

"I was hissing." Erebus forced his voice to remain even.

"Like a snake." Weasley looked like he was half afraid and half triumphant. "I knew there was something different about you and now I can prove that you're really dark!"

Erebus stepped forward, levelling the Gryffindor, he had to fix this. "Who would believe you Weasley? I, hissing, you should clean your ears, blood-traitor. I was merely mumbling how stupid your performance was in Defence. Now, that everyone would believe."

"At least I can perform magic, two eye coloured freak! You don't even have control over your magic!" snapped Weasley, his ears reddening in embarrassment. "I know what I heard Riddle, and I'm gonna make sure the Headmaster knows of it."

Erebus could feel his nails digging painfully into his palm as he held his fist into a tight ball. He strode deliberately towards Weasley and stretched up to his full height, his intimidating eyes boring into Weasley's. The red haired boy swallowed loudly, unable to peel his eyes away from the red and green swirl.

"Listen closely Weasley 'cause I hate having to repeat myself. I was not hissing, nor did you hear me hissing." his tone was low, but every syllable was laced with chilly intent that sent shivers down the Gryffindor. "Do we have an accord?"

"You don't intimidate me, Riddle!" cried Weasley shakily, backing away from the dangerous boy.

"I don't?" Erebus said quietly, not shifting his intense stare.

"You're a slimy Death Eater wannabe and I'm gonna make sure you and your stupid House never set foot into the castle again!" Weasley scampered off in the other direction, leaving behind the pair of green eyes that were slowly dissolving into red.

Erebus watched as Weasley ran, surely on his way to alert the Headmaster of his slip up. He couldn't let that happen. After all the precaution he'd taken he was not going to allow some blood traitor to ruin his family, not in his life time. His darkening eyes never left the Gryffindor's form, his knuckles white and shaking, his control well shot out of the window. And before he knew it, Weasley had collapsed in a heap just before he could turn the corner.

He strode quickly for the silently writhing body on the stone floor. Weasley was screaming silently, his frightened eyes glazed with pain as he stared at his arms. Red eyes followed the Gryffindor's and saw to his satisfaction that Weasley's right arm was completely bent in the wrong direction.

"What were you saying Weasley?" Erebus asked with a sneer. Weasley opened his mouth but no sound came out. "Sorry, can't hear you." The black haired boy bent down the floor and eyed the other boy carefully. "Next time you decide to pin yourself against a Slytherin, make sure to choose one that has no connection whatsoever to the Dark, that way you may actually be able to win."

Erebus stood up straight once more and smoothened out the crinkles in his robes. "I think I'll let Madam Pomfrey fix you up now. However, I can't have you going to her with your memories intact, now can we? A Slytherin never does anything half done." He waved his hand over Weasley's frightened face, "_Obliviate!_ You were running back to your common rom when Mrs. Norris suddenly streaked pass you and you tried to dodge her but ended up tripping and lading badly on your right arm instead."

Weasley's faced turned blank at once and Erebus lifted the Silencing Charm he'd cast together with the Bone Bending Curse. The once silent hall was suddenly filled with the Gryffindor's moans and that was all the cue Erebus needed to blend into the shadows and out of sight.

_**sSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSs**_

Erebus was in the common room together with his fellow first years doing a few of their assignments in their only morning period off when their Head of House emerged from the archway. Severus had a determined look upon him and Erebus had a feeling he knew exactly what their Head of House wanted.

"Good morning professor," he heard Amanda say guardedly. Last night he had told both Draco and Amanda of what he had done and needless to say both of them were currently worried of the fate that awaited their friend.

"Morning, Ms. Michaels." replied Severus curtly before ultimately turning his dark eyes on his godson. "Would Mr. Riddle please see me in my office, now?"

Erebus cringed at the hard tone but still looked up to his godfather. "I'll soon be required in class, sir. Can it not wait until this afternoon?"

"I do not need your cheek, Mr. Riddle, merely your presence in my office. Now!" Erebus could tell that the older man was controlling himself from lashing out on him before his Housemates and resigned himself to his fate. It was only after he'd returned to the Slytherin common room did he realize that what he'd done would bring more attention to him than it ever would if he'd allowed Weasley to go. He had stayed up all night berating himself over and over again for allowing his temper to get the best of him.

Severus watched the boy calmly push himself off the couch and walk towards him. He took one quick breath through his nose to prevent himself from dragging the procrastinating boy by the arm out of the Slytherin common room and into his chamber. He was planning to ask the boy whether he had a hand in Weasley's accident because he for one did not believe the Gryffindor had fallen down and landed that badly on his arm, but by the looks of the boy's actions, he need not have asked.

The pair walked in silence, the crowd parting quickly at the sight of their stern Potions professor. As soon as they'd reached the Potions Master's office, Severus darted pass the boy to stand behind his desk and establish the authority he required in the situation.

"Sit!" he ordered.

Erebus sat. Before they'd left the common room, he'd schooled his features to remain expressionless and neutral and until he'd heard what his godfather had to say, he would keep it that way, no need to show weakness.

"Erebus," Severus began, his voiced demanding attention. "I am not going to ask whether it was you who cursed Weasley because you and I both know it was you. I am however going to ask you why you did it."

Severus stared at the child, noting how stiff and rigid he was holding himself in his seat. "He was going to Dumbledore." said Erebus.

"He was going to Dumbledore and you thought it was justified to bend his bones the wrong way?!" intoned the professor in disbelief, leaning forward his desk to get a better view of the boy. "Child, do you know what could happen if the old man finds out who you are?"

"Of course!" said Erebus firmly, a flicker of anger flashing through his face. How could he say that he did not know of the consequences when his entire life revolved around them? He was not blind, he had snuck to see his mother during her earlier reign and had seen the damages the Order had inflicted upon her. He was not a child of Light but that of the Dark and that entailed for innocence to disappear at an early age.

"Then why Erebus?" demanded the lanky man, his long hands slamming onto his wooden desk. "Why did you curse Weasley? Tell me what went through that head of yours to endanger all our cover? You said you knew of the consequences, but why did you still do it? Do you want to see your mother back in Azkaban? Or perhaps Lucius? Narcissa? Bellatrix?"

"I don't!" flared the young Slytherin, rising to his feet. "I don't want any of you in Azkaban, how could you say such a thing?"

"You will lower your voice this instance young man or else."

Erebus kept his gaze away from his godfather, his breathing harsh and his eyes stinging with his unshed tears. "I thought your mother had impressed upon you the importance of anonymity when it comes of Dumbledore, I guess I was mistaken." The words stung. He knew, damn it! He had been trying so hard to keep his control. He knew! He tried!

He quickly stowed his shaking hands inside his robes and tried to eases his breathing. "I'm sorry." he mumbled. He hated feeling like this. He was just a child, why must everything he do be perfect? Wasn't he entitled to a few mistakes? He didn't want to do what he did, in fact it was tearing him up inside to know that it was his fault his family was discovered, but why was it that they were the only one who were allowed to get mad? He was having enough troubles as it is with his control and now to add this insane plot of Weasley to get him, wasn't he allowed a little break?

Severus released a heavy breath and flopped tiredly into his chair. "That's not enough Erebus. If it weren't for Poppy's quick actions, Dumbledore would have seen Weasley's hands. And if that had happened an inquiry would ensue for no one falls down and bends their arm the wrong way! Dumbledore is curious enough of you as it is. Do you know how many times I've curbed his prying? He doesn't seem to be satisfied with our explanation and sooner or later he'll find something if you can't stop yourself from fighting with the Gryffindors. You are above these."

"I said I was sorry!" said Erebus unfeelingly, his face was turned slightly towards his godfather but his eyes were focused on something behind the man.

Severus stared at the boy before him, aware of the fact that not even once had the boy looked at him in the eye or showed any emotion other than that of indifference which was unusual even for the boy. "Look at me Erebus." But when the boy still refused to shift his gaze, he sharpened his tone. "Erebus Ferrox Riddle, I said look at me!"

Slowly the boy turned his head and Severus noticed for the first time that the red colouration in his eyes was more prominent than that of the green. This immediately sent questions and alarms through the potions master's mind. "What is going on with you? You are acting like you don't care about anything at all and don't think I haven't noticed that your grades in Defence have been slipping." Something flashed through the boy's eyes but it had been too quick for him to identify.

"This has nothing to do with my grades." Erebus went immediately into his defence.

"I am well aware of what this conversation entails, however as your Head of House and most importantly your godfather, I have the right to know what is going on with you. This is unlike you Erebus, even you do not attack on whims alone nor do you fail your subjects." However he might have as well spoken to a rock for all the answers he got.

Severus pinched the bridge of his nose. "Alright Erebus, are you at least going to tell me why you cursed Weasley?" he asked when the boy did not speak.

"I already told you, he was going to Dumbledore!" replied Erebus in the same controlled voice.

Severus rose from his chair, his temper flaring closely to the top. The boy was purposely being unhelpful and he wanted to grab his shoulders and shake him senseless. However he did neither but contented himself with gripping his desk. "Why Erebus? Why? What did you do to make him want to run to Dumbledore?"

Erebus continued to keep his silence and Severus was at his wits end on how to deal with the boy. He could get so tight-lipped sometimes that has to take numerous confrontations to get him to open up. In these occasions, the boy was like a ticking time bomb waiting to explode.

"You're parents are going to be told of this." he said after awhile once he'd gotten a better hold of his temper, but still there was no reaction from the boy. "You will meet me tonight and tomorrow after dinner for detention."

"Why?" cried Erebus, his eyes wide in disbelief, he'd done nothing wrong.

"For duelling in the corridors." stated Severus simply.

"I wasn't duelling!" argued Erebus.

"Then tell me why you cursed Weasley." Severus gritted out.

Erebus stared hard at his godfather, half of him wanted run up to the man and beg him to call his mother so that he could finally confide in someone his struggles with controlling himself. But the other half wanted to keep the matter to himself, no use making them think that he was weak, especially not his father.

"Fine!" he barked up, straightening out to get out of the confining space.

"Do not take that tone with me young man. I may not be your father but I have no qualms of putting you over my knees if you keep that attitude." said Severus sternly.

Erebus blinked, "Sorry, sir. I'll see you tonight." He said, though with no hint of sincerity in his voice.

Severus watched the boy leave his office before sinking back into his chair. This was the reason why he didn't bother getting married and having children of his own, one godchild was enough to give him the mother of all headaches. Salazar was he going to need a number of cups of strong coffee if he planned to teach today without reducing all of his students to tears.

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**A/N:** See, Erebus is not perfect. Next chapter is where our favourite Dark child explodes... Ohhhhhh.... can't wait to write that bit....

read and review......

'til next post

**_dan4eva_**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: **I just finished this chapter a few hours ago and since you've been waiting for so long for an update, i decided to just post it now. I'll be honest with you, this is not one of my better chapters. I'd had hoped to write a better scene for when Erebus finally breaks down but so many things have been going on in my life lately that i haven't been able to come up with better chapters. But on the plus side, i have one month of school left before the holidays so maybe the i'll be able to write a decent chapter. I may even change this is i come up with a better alternative....

Enough drabble, just read for yourself if this chapter is good enough for you....

**Disclaimer:** read first chapter!  
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**Chapter 9**

The next few weeks that followed found the Slytherin House trying to figure out what had caused the sudden shift in their housemate's attitude. It was true that Erebus was already standoffish and quite conceited in the past, but he had become even more so now to the point that even his own House members could not approach him without being shown a look that sent them all shivering and cowering in fear. But beyond the walls of the infamous House, the Dark Prince simply conveyed a front that would make Salazar himself extremely proud and indifferent disposition; a bad combination– something that worried his family to no end.

After his initial confrontation with his godson, Severus had been trying to no avail to get the young Slytherin to talk to him again but Erebus had taken to avoiding him as much as possible. He knew that whatever was troubling the boy was much greater than what he'd undeniably done to Weasley, as the Gryffindor had returned to his old self after the matron administered the spell that would return his arm to normal. The signs were all there, subtle though they were to those who didn't know the boy, but they were there; the dark circles around his eyes and his more evident worn out look all screamed at him. Severus had tried to use the detention to speak with the boy but he had been as tight lipped as ever. He subsequently tried to find other ways to speak with Erebus but the boy's potions were always brewed to perfection and he rarely spoke out of turn in class that many of his ideas were immediately shot down. And as for informing both Lily and Tom of their son's situation, they too had turned up empty.

He was slowly reaching his rope's end with the boy, Erebus was like the son he never had but he was just too damn difficult for his own good. Never had there been an occasion where the boy approached them with his problems until it was probably too late to fix them. Slytherins prided themselves for being self-reliant among other things but the boy was taking it far too much to heart. They all knew it was dangerous to leave the boy like this, his powers were still developing and a young wizard left alone with unstable emotions was never a good thing, and add in the fact the Erebus' abilities were far greater than that of an average eleven year old – it was dangerous indeed.

"What more can we do Severus?"

"I don't know Lils, I've exhausted my ideas with him," replied Severus, sitting prop behind his desk

"Have you tried cornering him? Threatening him? Coercing him?" queried Lily, very much a worried parent, relentlessly pacing back and forth.

Severus looked scandalized at the life-sized hologram where he was currently having his discussion with the Dark Lady. "That might have worked when he was what, five? Seven? You know he no longer falls for those tricks. He's too bloody instinctive for his own good, he knows what we want and he dodges them like bludgers!"

"There's got to be something left to be done!" snapped Lily. Severus more or less calmly brushed off her tone, knowing full well the strain of not being able to come personally to help her son was affecting the woman. "What if you pull him off of there and send him home for a couple of days? Maybe then he'll be able to resolve what's bothering."

"You know we can't do that, Dumbledore will no doubt question the reason behind his sudden departure, plus boy has not been showing any outward signs beyond that of his own House that would warrant this brief break from the castle. I also believe that removing Erebus from the castle might be more of a deterrent than a cure. Remember, he only started acting out like this when he entered Hogwarts, not before it. Therefore by pulling him out, we'll only be shielding him from his problems. You and I both know he has to face this at one point in time or another." said Severus

"I don't care Severus, the last time he was like this he blew up a third of the manor and that was merely because he accidentally broke Tom's family heirloom. If what he's keeping is as big as you believe it to be, I'd rather he blow up the manor than break down before Dumbledore, we cannot afford for that to happen." argued Lily.

"Lily, will you please stop you're stupid pacing, you're making me dizzy!" cried Severus, rubbing his temples. "I know you're worried, we all are. I had to stun Tom the other day to prevent him from taking Erebus away from here. Imagine that, I, stunning the Dark Lord of all people and lived to tell of it. We do not need worrying; reckless parents here, what we need are the two greatest minds of the Dark to get Erebus back on track, away from destruction. So I suggest you pull yourself together and cease this, this…" Severus waved his hand about in mid air, "_parental woes _you're feeling immediately!"

Lily momentarily gave him a scornful look before replying in and equally hard voice, "You don't know what it feels to be a parent!"

"Oh, stop that Lily! You're being overly dramatic again. I'm the boy's godfather am I not? And did you not appoint me as his guardian if ever you and Tom are away or otherwise restricted from caring for him? If I am incapable of worrying about him like a parent, as you say, then you have my full consent of removing the appointed title from my name." said Severus impassively.

"Sev, you know I didn't mean any of those. I just blurt things out when I'm frustrated." said Lily, withering slightly at her friend's gaze.

"Look here Lily, as of now, Erebus seems to be able to manage fairly well under whatever pressure he's feeling, and so drastic measures are not viable options at the moment. However I swear to you that the moment I sense that Erebus is in danger of exposing himself, I will personally send him back home." said Severus, hoping to placate the worried mother.

"Very well, Sev, I'll leave it to you. I can always count on you to be level-headed when it comes to Erebus." mumbled Lily.

"Well someone has to be when the boy has two megalomaniac Dark rulers for parents," said Severus in a teasing tone causing Lily to chuckle heartily.

"I'll get you for that one, dungeon bat!" Lily retaliated back.

Severus faked a yawn and said, "You've got to learn to come up with better names, twitchy ears, I've heard of that one before."

"I'll have you know that my ears do not twitch!" cried Lily in surprise, clapping her ears with her hands.

"Whatever you say freckles, but I have it on good word from your lovely husband that they do in fact twitch." said Severus with a victorious sneer.

"I'll get you for this, Snape!" shouted Lily, pointing a finger at the sleek haired man.

"Go ahead and try, Riddle, you don't scare me. Why don't you just go and drag Bella out of dungeons and you two can replenish your creative juices on the Muggles." replied Severus.

"I might just will!" cried Lily. Severus as laughed Lily terminated their link in a huff.

_**sSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSs**_

The air in the dungeons, dissimilar to what others were made to believe, was actually warm due to the roaring fireplaces that were constantly lit day-in and day-out in every room and corridor. It was a necessary commodity, being miles beneath the castle, to prevent its occupants from freezing to death in the dungeons constant near zero temperatures. Yet despite the heat of the large fireplaces that where placed in the Slytherin common room, Amanda felt the temperature in her socked covered feet drop down a few degrees. She disregarded it at first for being on the carpeted stone floor for too long but as the night dragged on, with what started as a chill in her extremities, she was now having a nagging feeling of unease in her head.

She couldn't understand what was making her feel like this, she'd never felt anything like this before, but the feeling persisted until she couldn't stand it anymore.

"What's up with you?" asked Draco when she suddenly bolted out of her seat and started pacing back and forth the fireplace.

"I don't know Ray, I just feel chilled all of a sudden and I have this nagging feeling that something's about to go wrong." mumbled Amanda, fumbling uneasily with her hands.

"Do you know what it is?" queried Draco, putting down an old copy of the _Prophet_ he was perusing idly for the night.

"That's just it, Ray, I don't know why I'm feeling like this. I've never felt like this before." said Amanda, going on her third round of pacing on the hearth.

"Perhaps it's an assignment you forgot to do? A project? An essay?" Draco offered as an explanation to the troubled girl.

"Please, Draco, I've go better things to worry about than school work. I am not Granger. No, this is something else." cried the Slytherin girl.

"Well if you don't know what it is, Mandy, I won't know anything about it either." said Draco. "Perhaps you're just tired."

"Maybe," the girl conceded reluctantly. "By the way, have you seen Erebus?" She looked around the room to see if their friend was still in the common room. It had been days since they last hanged out together. She and Draco knew that something was laying heavily on their friend's mind, causing him to push them all aside.

"He went to bed an hour ago, said he was done for the night." replied Draco.

Amanda frowned, that was three nights straight that Erebus had failed to join them. "I think I'll do the same."

"Alright, maybe a good night's rest will rid you of your worries. I'll join Erebus later on. Good night Amanda." said Draco.

"Night, Ray,"

As she progressed up the steps that would take her to the student's bedrooms, the chill she was feeling intensified as if some one had opened a window during a blizzard. By now she was completely at a lost to what was happening to her and it was slowly scaring her. Her next step brought on another significant drop in the temperature surrounding her. She knew she was the only one feeling like this since her other housemates were not complaining of the sudden chill that had somehow enwrapped her.

Then suddenly she felt herself being drawn towards the boys' side of the dormitories. It was a tugging feeling in her stomach that she couldn't ignore and cap in her freezing self, her body could do noting but respond to whatever it was making her do. Her only comfort in the situation was that whatever happens to her here in the Slytherin common room, she knew that their Head of House was not going to let it up without investigating the cause.

Surprisingly her feet brought her before the door to Erebus and Draco's shared bedroom. She extended her hand to turn the knob but was shocked to find it burning hot. At that moment a different kind of chill ran down her spine. A thousand different thoughts ran through her head as to what could have caused this as she rushed into the room. However her tracks were stopped short when she was hit by a sudden drop of temperature and a blanket of darkness. If she hadn't known she was in the boys' dormitories, she would have properly convinced herself that she was standing inside an enlarged freezer. Her breath was coming out fogged before her eyes and she could no longer feel her arms and legs.

"Erebus!" she cried out, her voice rasp due to the cold, dry air.

But no one answered.

"Erebus!" she repeated, receiving the same response. "Erebus, please, where are you?"

As her eyes got accustomed to the darkness, she was able to make out the outline of the furniture and managed to make her way around the room with minimal accidents. Each step was excruciating as her joints had began to stiffen and her laboured breathing was fogging up her vision. It wasn't long however before she started sensing heat once more. But it was the kind of heat that burned in your skin and somehow she knew she was getting closer.

"Erebus," she tried once more but this time she waited, and sure enough someone stirred in her peripheral sight. Slowly, feeling her way in the dark, she made her way towards the disturbance. Her hands shook uncontrollably, both the heat and the cold making her head hurt, and just as she was about to call out for her friend again, a pair of scarlet orbs blinked before her eyes.

"Erebus," she cried out in relief, rushing towards her friend. However the moment she reached the red eyed boy, she noticed that his eyes were unseeing, they were wide open but they were not acknowledging her presence. Even the running of her hand before his face garnered no reaction from the silent boy. The burning red eyes were still locked at something faraway she could not discern.

"What is it, Reby? What do you see?" whispered Amanda, kneeling before the boy, not daring to raise her voice any higher. She wrapped her arms around her body as a sudden gust of cold air swept through the room. "Please Erebus, let's get out of here. I have a really bad feeling."

A sudden faint crack resounded around the room and caused the hairs on the back of her neck to stand-on-end, sending shivers down her spine. The sound barely registered in her ears but in the dark, cold room, the sound did not bode well at all. Then as suddenly as the crack had sounded, more came, sounding louder and closer each time. It was at that moment that she realized that whatever it was that Erebus was staring at, it was where the cracks were coming from.

She hesitantly left her friend's side to go and examine what was before the both of them, the prickling cracks getting more and more prominent as she got closer. She squinted her eyes hoping to decipher something in the dark and then looked back to find Erebus still staring unseeingly at whatever it was before them. When she reached the other side of the wall, she was surprised to find something cold and smooth touch the palm of her hands.

_The charmed wall_, she recognized in surprise. She delicately ran her hands through the ice cold surface, examining it until she met with an uncharacteristic ridge on its smooth surface. Another loud crack ensued and Amanda paled in horrid realization. She slowly and carefully backed away from the wall and made it back to Erebus' side. Her fingers lightly touched that of Erebus' fingers and it felt like she'd dipped them into a cauldron of boiling liquid. She gasped out in surprise.

Finally she realized what she had been feeling. It was Erebus. He was somehow allowing his magic to run wild and it was causing havoc with her senses. "Erebus, stop it!" she cried out in panic. But his eyes remain stuck on the cracking glass wall.

"Please, Erebus, I'm scared. Reby stop it." she pleaded heavily, afraid to touch him lest she gets burnt again.

"I can't," came a soft sound from the boy.

"Erebus!" Amanda turned to her friend at once. "What do you mean you can't? You have to or we're all going to drown down here."

"I can't!" repeated Erebus in a strangled voice, still not averting his eyes from the wall in front of them.

"I – I'll find Professor Snape, he'll help you…" said Amanda, flustered, her bones getting more and more painful by the minute.

"No……" Amanda was shock to find so much despair in Erebus' voice that she unconsciously held his hand. However instead of the burning pain she had experienced before, the touch was only hot, but no pain came with it.

"Erebus, what's wrong?" she asked, feeling his hands tremble slightly under her touch.

"I can't do it, it's too hard…" mumbled Erebus.

"What's too hard Reby? Tell me, I'll help you."

"You can't," he chocked out, causing another crack to appear in the wall opposite them.

"Erebus, please, you've got to control it, let me help you," said Amanda, trying not to recoil as Erebus turned his gaze towards for her the first time. She could see clearly the despair and anger in his red orbs, burning fiercely in the surface. By now Erebus was shaking even more, jarring his speech.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled.

"It's okay, Reby, I'm here. I'll help you, just tell me what to do." she uttered, trying to cover up her fear.

"I'm sorry, please don't tell." he begged. Surprisingly, his red eyes were slowly fading away to give in to a more natural green. And it was also with great relief that she could no longer hear more cracking sounds by the wall. Then a few minutes later the torches flickered back on and Amanda spied a look at the wall and was shocked to find not a single scratch on the large expanse.

"It's stopped Erebus, you did it!" she cried out to her friend but Erebus had returned to being unresponsive. "Erebus…"

"Please don't tell," he slurred.

"I swear I won't," she replied solemnly, watching as Erebus made to get up from the chair he was sitting on to lie to on his bed. He moved throughout it all in a mechanical fashion.

"Thank you," he said softly as he climbed onto his bed.

Amanda gingerly made her way towards the foot of his bed. "Erebus, could you please tell me what…" she started but was cut off by a severe look from the boy who still had remnants of scarlet in his emerald eyes.

"Please Mandy, not tonight, I can't, not yet. Please… Please don't tell," he repeated all over again. She could see the exhaustion in his eyes and decided to let it drop for now.

"I already swore I wouldn't tell Reby." she said softly.

"Not even to Sev or Draco or even Father. Swear you won't tell." demanded Erebus in a curt voice.

"I swear Reby, I won't tell." she replied, hoping to have appeased the boy this time. "Go to bed Reby, I won't tell a soul."

"Good," Erebus mumbled tiredly under his covers. "And I'm sorry I scared you."

"I'm fine now," said Amanda, which was true. Right after Erebus had returned to some semblance of normalcy, her chills had stopped and she could no longer feel any heat radiating from around the room. It was as if she had just imagined it all, for not even her hands had any of the burns she had acquired earlier.

"Still I'm sorry; you shouldn't have had to see that."

"It's okay, Reby, everything's okay now."

"No, not yet…" uttered Erebus softly to himself, his eye staring at something only he could see.

"Goodnight Erebus," sighed Amanda, fatigue catching up on her as well. Soon Draco would be coming up here and she didn't want to be seen all alone in their room.

"Goodnight Amanda and thank you," mumbled the boy, his eyes closing in exhaustion.

Amanda waited by the foot of the bed until Erebus' breathing had deepened and was certain that he was indeed fast asleep before making her way to his side of the bed. The bed sank down to the side but Erebus remained undisturbed and she ran her hand through his furrowed brow; it seemed that sleep was not proving to be a cure to the petite boy.

"I wish you'd let us help you, Reby." she murmured softly, and as if her words had reached the Dark Heir's ears, Erebus frowned in his sleep. She continued to stroke Erebus' brows gently whilst muttering in a strange language she knew would help ease her friend's anxieties, even if just for the night.

After a few more minute she stood up from the bed. Sighing heavily, Amanda left the room with a heavy heart; filled with worry for her troubled friend.

_**sSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSs**_

The next few days passed by excruciatingly slow for Erebus. Everything had become extremely difficult for him to perform and it was definitely getting to him. His magic, as he knew it would, had begun to become unreliable, fluctuating at different levels that reflected greatly on his now more volatile temper. To add in to his frustrations, it was getting even harder to hide his sudden change from the rest of the castle. Many students outside his House have now started to talk about his less than amicable attitude, but unlike those from his own House who gave him privacy, the gossips the others create just fuel his aggravation in the matter.

The tension and fear in the Great Hall was so palpable when they entered he could almost taste it. Right and left, students were whispering frantically to their neighbours, looks of alarm were clear on their faces, and up on the High Table the professors' expressions were drawn as they surveyed the distressed student population.

His quick sweep of the Great Hall brought him to the only house that seem not as bothered as the others and walked towards the empty seats that were reserved just for them. Blaise Zabini looked up at them as they were approaching the Slytherin table, a sly grin on his face. He hadn't even sat down when the sandy haired wizard tossed a copy of the _Prophet_ at him.

"Read it," said Blaise to his unasked question.

Erebus didn't have to look far for the article that Blaise was talking about. It also helped that the headline was plastered in bold printing on the front page.

_**THE DARK BREAKS ITS SILENCE!!!**_

_Death Eaters rampage four Muggle villages in one night _

_By: Joyce Slater_

_The wizarding world has, for the past six months, experienced relative calm when You Know Who's successor suddenly ceased all raids and quietly went under the radar. The sudden disappearance of Death Eater activities that we have all been a victim of since the first rise of the He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, sent the public and the Ministry wondering what You Know Who's successor would be planning of next. But as Death Eater activities remained zero in the next few months, we had all hoped that at last the Dark had gone. _

_Those hopes have now come to an end and the peace that we have tasted for a short amount of time is over as late last night, sightings of the Dark Mark were reported in York. All four of the Muggle villages were blazing to the ground by the time the Aurors arrived on the scene and it took the Reversal Squad three hours to clear all of the evidences from the Muggles. However it is not known if You Know Who's successor herself was present during the attacks. This uncalled attack on the Muggle villages has reawakened the fear in the wizarding community. _

_Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, has assured the wizarding communities across Britain that the Ministry would do all it can to put an end to this terror._

_Full details of the attack on page 5. _

"Aunt Lily's been busy," said Draco, who was reading the same article from over his left shoulder.

Erebus regarded the article carefully, frustration ebbing ever closer to the surface. For weeks now he'd been feeling trapped in a completely surreal world where his actions were dictated and scrutinized. The suffocating feeling of being oppressed in the castle was so constricting that the simple news of his mother wreaking havoc beyond the castle's walls drove him even deeper into the madness he had created for himself. It was a constant strain having to battle against the two forces that held him together: his desire to protect his family and the still untamed magic within him that refused to be subdued.

"Well good for her." snapped Erebus, tossing the paper back to its owner. "At least one of us is able to vent their anger!"

"What's eating you today, Erebus?" asked Blaise, removing the _Prophet_ from plain view.

"Nothing," said Erebus convincingly, grabbing a plate of sausages and sliced them meticulously into bite-sized pieces. "Everything's perfectly fine."

Amanda would have believed him had it not been for the sudden blast of heat she'd felt coming from her friend. It was the exact same feeling she had felt the other night emanating from the dark haired boy, hot and blazing like an open furnace, grazing lightly on her skin. She looked up expecting to see the same haunted red eyes peeking out of Erebus' lashes but was relieved to find that other than the heat only she could feel, Erebus was silently spooning egg into his mouth, oblivious to her searching looks.

"Are you okay, Erebus?" she asked, reaching out to his silent form, making sure only he could hear her.

Erebus lifted his head and she came face to face with a wearied look that flittered away almost immediately to be replaced with his usual cool expression. "Why won't I be okay, Amanda?"

"I don't know Erebus," she shrugged. "You wouldn't tell me."

Erebus straightened out his posture and mumbled quietly, beseeching her with his eyes. "Amanda… please,"

"Don't worry, Reby." she sighed. "I swore, didn't I?"

"Thank you, Amanda." Erebus mouthed out before returning solemnly to his meal.

After that, breakfast in the Slytherin table went smoothly and true to her world, Amanda had kept her silence about last night's events despite the strong urge to approach their Head of House and tell him all she'd seen. But sitting here before Erebus, watching him withdraw from his Housemates, she knew that securing his trust during his most fragile moments was more prudent than telling on him and his actions.

As Erebus, Draco and Amanda, together with Blaise, were leaving the Great Hall for their first lesson of the day, a shout by the staircase caused them to halt in their tracks.

"Hey, Riddle!"

Erebus' eye twitched irritably at the sound of the loud Gryffindor's voice but did not turn around.

"What do you want, weasel?" barked Draco snidely for his friend, Blaise and Amanda standing by his side.

Weasley, who today was flanked only by Longbottom, turned red at the ears at the slander Draco made of his name. "Say that again, Malfoy?" cried Weasley, advancing at the group of Slytherins.

"I don't have to repeat myself to you, weasel. It's not my fault if you're both deaf and an idiot." replied Draco with a sneer.

Surprisingly, after glaring hatefully at the blonde, Weasley merely turned his eyes back towards Erebus who still had his back towards them. "Can you not face people on your own, Riddle? Or must Blondie here be always the one to take your fights?"

"Speak for yourself, Carrot-head!" drawled Draco, and at the same time, Erebus finally turn around and the both Blaise and Amanda parted slightly to give him a clearer view of the Gryffindor.

"Actually, Weasley, you should be glad that Draco here is standing before you and I."

"Why should I be glad for having a snake stand in front of me?" snapped Weasley.

Erebus smiled and walked passed the three, a dark glint in his deceiving eyes. He failed to notice the worried look Amanda had on her face. Weasley eyed Erebus' advancing form warily but stubbornly stood where he was. Longbottom however cowered backed up the banister.

"Because you see Weasley, Draco was the only one who was preventing me from getting to you, and I doubt you still remember the last time you and I came face to face." said Erebus in a low voice, pleased at the confused look on Weasley's face.

"What are you talking about Riddle?"

If possible, the grin of Erebus' face widened, though not to a pleasing degree. "Tut tut tut… Amazing thing, our mind, isn't it Weasley? Makes us forget incidents that are absolutely humiliating, and so easily manipulated."

Amanda felt extremely uneasy watching Erebus advance slowly towards the Gryffindors. The wave of heat that had slowly been coming from Erebus was gaining in its intensity and she didn't want a repeat of what she had seen the previous night. Weasley barked something incoherent and Erebus laughed mirthlessly, causing Weasley to turn red in the ears.

"Watch where you go next time, Weasley, it's not only outside the castle that the Dark can get you." said Erebus before walking back towards them. Amanda flashed a sneer at the two Gryffindors before joining Erebus in his departure, glad that nothing bad had happened.

However the four of them had barely passed through the corridor when a feeling of dread passed through her. Her eyes quickly snapped towards Erebus' moving form but before she could find out more about what she had felt, Weasley had shouted out a comment that was completely uncalled for.

"I bet you aren't as cocky when your mother is here. Rumour has it you cried like a baby when you fell off your broom."

"Shut it, weasel!" cried Amanda immediately, blocking off Erebus' path to the Gryffindor.

"So it's true then? Riddle's a momma's boy!" exclaimed Weasley triumphantly.

"If I were you Weasley, I would keep my mouth shut." said Draco. However, by some inane force that could only be found in Weasley, the boy went on, unknowingly fuelling the bonfire that was burning within Erebus.

"Hey Riddle, what have you got to say about the rumour that you're father left your mother because she was a scarlet woman!" said Weasley, fighting off Longbottom who had the brains to try and get away.

The three Slytherins couldn't believe their ears. How dare Weasley make such accusations about Erebus' parents! But before either of them could inflict serious damage on Weasley, a violent force had roughly pushed them down the floor. Amanda had not been prepared for when all of a sudden Erebus flung her to the side to dash up to a very much terrified Weasley and Longbottom. She briefly saw the burning red eyes on Erebus' face before falling to the floor with a thud and knew instantly that this time, he was beyond her reach.

"Erebus, no!" she cried out, trying to get back on her feet but by some force only Erebus could undo, she found herself stuck on the stone floor.

Weasley and Longbottom could only stand in fear as the Dark Heir, in only a few short strides, was standing nose to nose with them. Longbottom whimpered and brought upon him the wrath of Erebus' red stare.

"Run, Longbottom, run…" Erebus whispered harshly to the Gryffindor. The plump boy didn't have to be told twice and immediately ran up the corridor the moment he was able to gather his wits, leaving Weasley to face a very scary looking Slytherin.

"It's only you and me now, Weasley. Isn't that what you wanted?" Weasley whimpered and paled at the implication of his words.

Erebus grinned widely; his face contorting into something he had undoubtedly inherited from his famous father, not that Weasley knew any of that. He lowered his hand slowly towards his robes to ensure that Weasley saw what he was doing. Weasley's eyes widened as he pulled out his wand and pointed it straight at the point where his heart was.

"R-R-Riddle…" he stuttered out, his eyes pleading. But at the moment there was nothing in Erebus' mind other than to curse the wretched weasel who had the impudence to insult his family. He had so far tolerated to the best of his ability everything the Gryffindor threw at him, but insulting his family in his presence made his blood boil and he couldn't care less what he would do to the perpetrator.

The tip of his Basilisk fang and phoenix feather wand went into contact with Weasley's chest and the Gryffindor cried out in fear, anymore and he would have wet himself. The grin on Erebus' face never faded as the Gryffindor continued to remain rooted to the spot. The three Slytherins lying on the floor watched helplessly as Erebus succumbed to be controlled by his anger and power.

"Erebus, please, you've got to stop…" Amanda tried to get through the boy.

"Mate, don't do it, you'll regret it. Think of what will happen if you lose control now." said Draco, hoping to prevent a disaster.

"Erebus, listen to us. You can control this. Weasley's not worth risking everything you hold dear." Blaise added in, struggling continuously to free himself from his friend's spell.

But Erebus was deaf to all of his friends' pleas, his mind clouded by anger and raw power, months of repressed emotions now surging unrestrictedly through his frail body. "So how do you want it Weasley? Slow and painful or swift but still painful? Anything is fine with. You'll find I'm an extremely flexible person." said the raging teen, wand pressed firmly on the Gryffindor's chest.

Weasley just shook his head, too scared to actually utter anything else to the Slytherin. "No, p-p-please…."

Erebus' eyes flared brighter and the temperature around the corridor dropped, very much as it did on that night in the Slytherin common room. Amanda knew instantly what was coming when the temperature dropped and if they didn't intervene soon, Erebus was going to do something none of them would be able to repair. Not even their Head of House could fix whatever it was Erebus was capable of doing.

And then suddenly a crack so deafening Amanda wondered why no one else had come to see what was going on, sounded. Her blue eyes frantically searched for the source of the sound and sure enough, on the ground below Weasley, a huge crack had appeared on the stone floor. Erebus was going to make a ruin out of the castle!

For the first time since Erebus walked towards the Gryffindor, Weasley staggered backwards as the once solid floor beneath him shifted into a recognizable crack. All throughout the grin on Erebus; face never faded.

"Reby! Stop!" shouted Amanda firmly, finally able to move her legs.

But a flash of brilliant blue light had all of them stunned into silence once more and it was only when the ground shook violently that Amanda opened her eyes again. The sight that greeted her eyes sent the fear for her friend to rise to the surface. The windows had all shattered, shards of glass littering the stone floor, she was surprised that not a piece had come towards her friend. But the worst of all the destruction Erebus had caused laid on the rubble of stone, for Weasley laid unconscious on the ruined floor. Both Draco and Blaise stared in fear at Erebus, not for what he'd done, but for what was to come for their friend.

Erebus still stood, grinning mirthlessly at Weasley's limp form, and Amanda, Blaise and Draco still laid helplessly on the floor. And through it all, the ground still shook, widening the cracks on the stone floor.

"EREBUS FERROX RIDDLE, THAT IS ENOUGH!" roared a powerful voice that sent shivers down their spine. Amanda turned her head around and was relieved for the first time to find their stuttering Defence professor marching towards the dark haired boy.

The shaking of the floor and the grin on Erebus' face finally faded at the sound of the Dark Lord's commanding voice, used only when his limits had been reached, and his small body shuddered. The uncontrollable power that had overpowered him earlier now began to recede, slipping once more into its dormant state. And as if the world had suddenly made sense, Erebus turned wide eyed at his father.

"Enough Erebus," uttered his father once more, firm. Then the shuffling of feet sounded as their Head of House and matron came bursting into the scene, a look of fear plain on their faces.

"Tom," cried Severus, quickly taking in the sight of four Hogwarts students lying limp on the floor and his godson standing confusedly amidst it all. "The Headmaster is on his way, he felt the Dark Magic that caused the tremor."

"Father…" a voice so small, they barely heard it at all.

The Dark Lord, at the sound of his son's voice, cut the space between them in an instant and took his frail looking son in his hands. The boy's eyes still had a tinge of red in them and large eye bags hung beneath his weary eyes.

"Come childe, we need to get you out of here before Dumbledore comes."

By this time, all three Slytherins had realized that the restraining hold Erebus had had on them had vanished and they were all in their feet once more. None of them dared to come between the Dark Lord and his son and contented themselves to huddling together by the wall.

"Father," Erebus mumbled, groping at his father's robes. "I tried, I really really did try. But I couldn't stop. I tried father. I really did. I'm sorry, I tried. I tried. I tried. I'm so sorry…"

"Shush, childe, I now you've tried. I know. Now I need you to rest." said the Dark Lord, trying to soothe his only son.

"I've failed you, father. I'm sorry." Lord Voldemort was about to argue his son's words but failed to do so when the young Slytherin finally succumbed to his exhaustion and collapsed heavily onto his father's arms.

"Erebus…" Amanda couldn't help but cry out in surprise.

Severus' head turned sharply towards his three Slytherins by the wall. "Ms. Michaels, Amanda, you and misters Malfoy and Zabini are to follow Madam Pomfrey to the Infirmary at once. You are not to speak of this to anyone, is that understood?"

The three of the nodded, scurrying towards the matron's waiting arms.

"I will leave the two of you to deal with this. Severus, Tom." said the matron, ushering the children away from the wave of destruction Erebus had created.

"Go Poppy; take the children away from here before Dumbledore comes." The Dark Lord carried his son in his arms, shifting the body slightly to ensure the boy was comfortable.

It was only after the matron and the children were out of the corridor did Severus turn to speak to his long-time friend and lord. "What are we to tell Dumbledore that caused such a sea of destruction?" he asked.

"The truth, Severus." said the Dark Lord calmly.

"Have you lost your mind Thomas?" exclaimed the Potions Master, staring disbelievingly at the disguised Dark Lord.

"That is yet to occur, my old friend. But I have studied the wards of this castle and know for a fact that the castle registers any potential dangers within it as Dark. We will simply tell him that we caught Erebus and Weasley getting into a fight and their succeeding burst of uncontrolled accidental magic caused this." Voldemort eyed his bemused ally and gestured to the broken windows and cracked floors.

"But what of Weasley?" asked Severus, finally acknowledging the presence of the Gryffindor.

"I have already altered his memory. He will only remember duelling with Erebus before a burst of light sent the both of them falling to the ground." The two former Slytherins eyed the red haired youth with indifference.

"I trust that Erebus will be taken away for a period of time?" queried the Head of Slytherin House, levitating the unconscious boy off the floor.

"I don't think that that will be necessary. I've checked his magical levels and they seemed to have normalized, no longer the raging sea I'd once felt from the boy. He'll just need a few days of rest and he'll be back to normal." Lord Voldemort assured his son's worried godfather and cradling the boy closer to his person.

"I'm worried, Tom." stated Severus. "Dumbledore will pry even more after this. This explanation of ours will only increase his curiosity of the boy. He has been asking more questions lately."

"I know," sighed the Dark Lord. "We will deal with the old man when the time comes. But now we need to get these two to the Infirmary, I feel the old man approaching."

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**A/N: **please review. I still don't have a beta so if there are mistakes, i know there are, i ain't perfect, just please take it graciously.... I try to limit mistakes but some things just can't be helped.

If anyone's interested in being my beta just give me a PM.....

til' next post...

_**dan4eva**_


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:** SCHOOL IS OUT!!!! I now will have more time for my stories and hopefully get to update quicker....

Nothing much to say about this chapter except that it's mosty with Erebus and his family...

Hope you like it, i swear the action will pick up soon... it's almost Halloween at Hogwarts... and we all know what that means... hahahaha

**Disclaimer: NOT MINE!**

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**Chapter 10**

The balls of light mesmerized him as they revolved swiftly around him. The white ball of light was smaller than that of the black ball of light, though not by much, and they would occasionally collide with one another, creating a spectacular display of colours. This went on and on as he sat comfortably under the canopy of a dense forest. He didn't particularly know where he was; just that the moist floor and proximity of the trees in the forest scene offered him a sense of tranquillity he had not felt in a very long time. He didn't know for how long he stayed propped up by a large rock watching the balls of light collide with one another but he certainly had not expected for the balls of light to, after colliding with one another, remain stationary and fuse together as a giant ball of golden light.

He stood up in curiosity and walked over to the entrancing ball of light, extending his hand to have a feel of the obviously magical object. It was like touching one of those peculiar Muggle electricity balls where sparks of electricity seemingly flow through your fingers when you touch them. The reaction fascinated his inquisitive mind and soon his other hand was slowly caressing the outer covering of the ball, producing more sparks of light to extend towards his fingers. He played with the ball of light until a sudden ridiculous urge came over him. To throw the ball up into the air was an extremely absurd idea, considering the ball of light wasn't actually solid and ergo could not be tossed up into the air. Nevertheless, he gleefully positioned his hands on the sides of the ball, his tongue sticking out childishly in between his teeth, and willed for his hands to be able to hold the ball and swing it up into the air. To his great surprise, the ball of light flew high up in the air and the sparks of light that had earlier extend from the ball towards his hands now acted like strings in a kite, all connected to the tips of his fingers. The ball continued to soar until it reached the uppermost branches of the tall trees, sending a flock of birds to scatter in frenzy.

The little rays of sunlight that managed to penetrate through the dense canopy of trees felt so good on his pale skin and it gave him a more natural look that actually made his usual pale colouring seem healthier. As the particles of dust caught by the rays of light swirled around, he was the perfect image of a perfectly tranquil young boy with no worries, playing around in the forest and enjoying the late afternoon sun.

It was only at the sound of twigs snapping in the distance did he cease playing with the ball of light. As soon as his fingers terminated the connection to the golden sparks, the ball of light came falling until it hovered once more before him, and right before him, the ball diffused back into white and black, slowly circling his person. The balls continued to marvel him so that he failed to notice the approaching form that was coming ever closer to him.

"I would have thought that your mother taught you better than that," said a voice from behind him, causing him to jump up in surprise and for the balls of light to halt and crackle silently in midair

He turned around to find a tall, imposing man dressed in impeccably pristine robes standing before him, a neutral expression upon his face.

"Father!" he blurted out in surprise but changed his tone as soon as he'd gotten a better examination of the older wizard. "You look… great."

The power that radiated from the older wizard was unmistakable. He stood at an amazing height of 6'3 and held himself in such a manner that told you he was capable of killing just by raising his finger. His eyes were a hypnotic deep blue colour that gazed both levelly and critically at the youth. Only a subtle raise of his lip and a smoothening of his brow should his amusement at the boy's surprise, both of which went unnoticed by the young wizard.

"To be honest, I have never felt better." said the older man, continuing to look at the boy, noticing that the boy looked better than he'd seen him in weeks. But then again, the appearance was to be expected considering their present locale was beyond the reach of any external force.

"You've come to take me away," the youth stated darkly all of a sudden.

"Yes, childe." answered the older man, a sadness in his voice.

"Can't I stay for a bit longer?" he pleaded to his father.

The older wizard, his father and mentor, knelt down to his height, levelling their eyes so that he did not have to strain his head looking up at the man, however the position also offered him no escape from his father's intense look, much to his dismay.

"You can't keeping ignoring your problems, Erebus, and thinking that they'll merely go away if you don't face them." said the Dark Lord softly, taking hold of his son's shoulder.

"I do not ignore my problems, father!" he cried out, barely restraining his anger, knowing that his father resented disrespect more than anything else. After struggling in vain to escape the man's grasp, Erebus gave up in indignation. He knew from experience that his father would just get a hold of him once he'd stopped fidgeting. "I face them!"

"Oh yes, keeping them to yourself until you're an inch from a magical core burn is the best way to face your problems." drawled his father in a patronizing voice, keeping a firm hold on his son.

Erebus refrained from replying but his eyes spoke volumes of what he was truly feeling and the worst part of it all was that his father was a master at reading people's expressions. It was only exactly in two occasions did he see his father in his real, unmasked, non spirit form, and to be quite honest he always looked threatening to his exasperatingly short form. His father stood up after awhile, releasing his vice of a grip, and he had to back up a bit so as not to get in the way of the man.

Holding out his right arm, Voldemort gestured for his son, who had resumed to slumping stubbornly back on the rock to watch the once again revolving balls of light, to take his hand.

"Can we not stay for a bit longer?" he tried to ask his father again, timid for once.

"You cannot hide inside your head forever, son." intoned the Dark Lord.

"I know!" cried Erebus petulantly, taking hold of the dark ball of light and allowing the sparks to flow through his fingers. "It's just…"

Lord Voldemort, Tom Riddle, watched as his son struggled to find the right words to say and it was at that moment that his face visibly softened. It was not often that the Dark Lord shows his softer side and if he did, he only showed it to a select few of people, but mostly only to his son. It was astounding at how people could not connect the dots as to who Erebus' father was, seeing as the boy looked exactly like him when he was his age. But then again, not many people remember how the handsome Tom Riddle looked like before he'd gone and placed the mask that is Lord Voldemort and terrorized countless of witches, wizards and Muggles alike.

"Amazing thing our magic is, don't you agree?" said Tom softly, gathering the attention of his son who had once again lost himself in the calming presence of the balls of light. "No magic is ever identical to another. You may say it's our identity, our very own innate signature. Yet despite all its dissimilarities, everyone's magic reacts the same way during certain situations and it so happens that you are much, much more in tune with yours, only if you learn to control it."

"I do have control, Father. I've been under the tutelage of mother, Uncle Sev, Uncle Luc and even yourself!" said Erebus, turning to face the man.

"Yes you do, you are much more in control than an average eleven year old wizard, of that I am extremely proud of. But you will never be ordinary, son. Your magic, it is manifesting much quicker and in a much more powerful force than even a grown wizard's magic." replied Voldemort, watching his son intently. "Your control must then be even greater."

But at the crestfallen look on his son's face and the sudden disruption of colours in the balls of light, he added. "But that is a problem for another day. Now I just want you to feel at ease once more with your magic, the rest can follow after."

Lord Voldemort sat himself on the ground beside his son and pulled him closer to him, placing a comforting hand over the boy's shoulders. He felt his son lean even closer to his body, his small form fitting perfectly in his arms, and began stroking his hair gently. "You and your mother are so very much alike. She too sometimes allows her emotions to get the best of her. Your magic is unnaturally linked with your emotions, that it spikes up uncontrollably when you cannot help but lose yourself in your emotions, but when you are calm, like when you're hiding behind your own Occlumency shield, your magic also calms down." They both turned to watch the two balls of light revolve around them, occasionally colliding to a silent display of colours.

"One day you'll be even more powerful than your mother and I."

"Will not," Erebus mumbled childishly after awhile, eliciting a hearty chuckle from his stern faced father.

"The future is not yours to dictate, child." replied the Dark Lord, stroking his son's silky hair.

"Nor is it yours!" argued Erebus in the same childish manner.

"Aye, it is not. But I am only stating what my eyes are seeing, and I'm seeing that you'll be a powerful wizard someday." came his father's soft voice.

A comfortable silence then reigned over father and son.

"I think I'm ready to go." Erebus mumbled softly after some time, during which his head had set comfortably on his father's lean shoulders.

"Well then, let's get out of here. I do not think my rear end would stand another minute on the bare ground furthermore I think your mother has had enough apprehension with the both of us out-of-it in Poppy's private wards." said the Dark Lord, getting to his feet and scooping his son easily in his arms.

"Mother's out there?!" exclaimed Erebus, staring at his father in disbelief.

"I'm sure Severus has dosed her with a Calming Potion by now." replied his father with a grin.

"Like that's ever worked before!" cried Erebus, literally shouting at his father's face since the Dark Lord refused to set him down, not that he minded being in his father's arms.

Lord Voldemort just chuckled heartily and soon the forest scene started dissolving and Erebus felt himself being pulled away, the balls of light slowly fading in the distance.

_**sSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSs**_

When he opened his eyes, he was immediately assaulted by the Infirmary's glaring lights and by the sound of hushed voices in the distance; Severus had yet to calm down his mother. Snapping them close once more, he tried to lose himself back inside his head. Unfortunately his attempt to procrastinate was interrupted when he felt someone prodding his side. Looking up, he found that instead of lying on the Infirmary bed like he thought he was, his head was cradled in his father's arms, and at present his father was eyeing him in a _you-better-quit-pretending-or-else-I'll-call-your-mother_.

Having been caught by his father, he was left with no choice but to face his mother. But it seemed that he wasn't fast enough for his father because all of a sudden, the man ran his hand over an extremely ticklish part of his skin and an unnaturally girly shriek ensued from his mouth, catching the attention of his mother and godfather. Undoubtedly what his father had wanted to happen.

'Thanks a lot' he mouthed grimly to his father who merely transferred his head back to the raised pillows on the bed. But before he could even prop himself properly on the bed, a pair of gentle arms had ensconced him tightly in their folds. He didn't have to look up to know who had wrapped him in their arms. The sweet scent of lavender and the tender touch of flesh to his skin told him all he needed to know.

He hadn't meant to do it, but after weeks of wanting to be with his parents, and the sudden wash of affection from his mother, he couldn't help but cling on tightly to her and pour out all of his pent up emotions. He didn't know for how long he'd cried on his mother's shoulders, just that it felt good to finally release all that he had been keeping from them, for he had very nearly forgotten how it was to have nothing weighing him down.

By the time he'd calmed down enough to be attentive, the strain of having violently unleashed his magic made itself know to his body and he moaned out in pain.

"Erebus?" asked his mother over the top of his head, her voice laced with worry.

"It hurts," he said, his voice muffled by his mother's robes.

He then heard someone approaching them and afterwards Madam Pomfrey's caring face came into view, a laden tray in her hands. "There now Erebus, don't exert yourself. Your body is still sore from the magical burnout. Drink this and you'll feel better." Erebus took the offered vial and drank it, all the while still holding onto his mother. The relief was instantaneous and he fell lax once more in his mother's arms, the potion having relaxed his taut nerves.

The matron ran a few more diagnostic spells before finally declaring him fit enough to stay up for another hour and then she bustled out of the room, probably to tend to her patients in the public part of the Infirmary. Erebus took the silence that came with the matron's departure to see who else was with him in the room. His father, still under the guise of the stuttering DADA professor was sitting on the transfigured chair beside his bed while his godfather sat on the foot of his bed, both of them watching him annoyingly close.

"I won't do anything you don't want me to do, you know." he said, feeling exhausted.

"Childe, can you now tell us what's been bothering you to cause you to burnout again?" asked his mother softly. He bit his lip warily at the question. Thinking of it now, the whole thing sounded silly to him, after all, as far as he could remember all that had bothered him to begin with was his fear of being discovered by the Headmaster because of his magic, and then all sorts of things just pilled up, creating a much bigger problem. His family watched him expectantly, waiting for him to reply. He sighed and pulled himself away from his mother, he didn't want to feel her disappointment as he told them everything.

"I didn't want Dumbledore figuring out who I am…" he finally said after a few minutes of internally arguing with himself on the best way to answer his mother's question without making it look like he was some helpless kid.

"What do you mean, Erebus?" said Severus. "The old man does not have the faintest idea of who you are."

"That's just it," cried Erebus, not liking the fact that he was showing weakness in front of the three people he looked up the most. "For almost two months now I've been trying extremely hard not to get under the old man's radar."

"Is that why you've been doing badly in Defence?" his mother inquired gently.

Erebus lowered his head in shame. "Yes and no…" he answered, hoping that it would satisfy his family. It didn't.

Delicate fingers found themselves beneath his chin, and in one careful movement, he came face to face with his mother's green eyes. He tried not burst out in tears once more as he saw nothing but understanding in her eyes.

"Son, I swear to you that no one in this room will think any less of you even if you were to fail in every subject at Hogwarts. So please childe, tell us what's been eating at you."

Erebus shifted his eyes to seek out those of his father's. It took a certain amount of concentration and familiarity to be able to look beyond the façade that was Quirrell and into eyes of the Dark Lord. But when he did, he found the same profound understanding he'd seen in his mother's eyes reflected into his father's darker ones. A quick glance at his godfather showed the exact same sentiments, though it was in a more subdued than his parents' as he had no disguise in which to conceal his true sentimentality.

The unreserved acceptance and love he was receiving from his family extinguished the remainder of his fear. His family would accept him no matter how much he blundered (not that he would repeat them again), of that he was now sure, and he vowed never to forget it again.

With renewed resolve, Erebus began, if not a bit hesitant. "I know this will sound stupid… but I got scared." He paused to look at their expression, but when no one rebuked him, he went on. "With Dumbledore so close by, I didn't want him to suspect me of even the smallest of things, because if he did, we'd all be in danger and everything that you've fought so hard to create will be destroyed and I didn't want to be the person to make it all happen. I –"

At this point his mother had placed a hand on his trembling hands. "Son, why didn't you tell us sooner? But these are not your burdens to bear, tell him Tom!"

"Yes they are!" Erebus found himself screaming at his mother. It was a second later before he realized what he'd done and he stared in horrification. "I'm sorry." He mumbled half-heartedly.

"Erebus," his father said for the first time, garnering the attention of everyone. "You're mother is right. You are but an eleven year old boy. Leave these matters to us. Do you not think we would have remained undetected by that old fool for so long if we know not what we are doing?"

"Listen to me childe, Dumbledore may be a manipulative bastard, but we are far more capable of connivance than him." his mother intoned in a firm voice.

"But Severus said that the Headmaster has been asking about me? How is it possible for me not to feel fear of putting us all in danger if my trying not to be noticeable is able to do what I don't want to happen?" said Erebus, looking between his parents and godfather.

He caught Severus' pensive expression and listened intently as he spoke. "Erebus it is my job to keep the Headmaster as oblivious to our plans as possible and I'm sorry that I blamed you the other day. I should have known better that you wouldn't do anything to endanger us without prior provocation. Please forgive us, me; for ever putting so much weight on your shoulder, you shouldn't have had to feel that everything was your fault."

Erebus could never stand seeing the stoic man so submissive, and for him to cause this kind of emotion on the man, it was enough for him to scoot away from his mother to move towards his godfather at the foot of the bed.

"Uncle Sev, I don't blame you for anything. You were right to put me in my place the other day, I knew very well the consequences of attacking a Gryffindor and I should never have allowed Weasley's words get to me. I'm sorry." uttered Erebus, taking his godfather's firm hands in his.

Severus smiled lightly at the young Slytherin and ruffled the top of his head. "You'll be the death of me child."

"You always say that, but you're still alive." replied Erebus cheekily, receiving a playful flick on the ear.

Before Madam Pomfrey could come and chastise him for moving about, Erebus returned to rest his head on the pillows. "Erebus, promise us you won't ever restrict your magic like that again. We're not mad at you for attacking Weasley, if you'd been aware of what was happening, I know you wouldn't do it. But please childe; promise me that you won't ever put everything on your shoulders like this again. Until you're of age, it is still our duty to preserve the family, not yours, do you understand?"

Despite the difference in appearance, his mother still managed to look fierce yet gentle, and he embraced himself gently. "I promise, I know what happens now when I do, and I don't want to feel like I have no control again. I don't like it."

"I know son, I know…" mumbled Lily, pulling her son in a much deserved hug.

"But I won't promise that I'll leave Weasley or any of the Gryffindors alone. If I'm allowed to act like an eleven year old, then I'll need my targets. I'm pretty sure Aunt Cissa and Aunt Pricilla won't like it if I send their sons home with bruises." said Erebus, pulling himself out of his mother's hold.

"We will never ask that of you childe." cried his mother, scandalized. "We'll be just like Dumbledore, a hypocrite, if we do."

"I'm sure you and your friends will exercise the utmost discretion. You are all not Slytherins for nothing." said Severus, laughing.

Very soon Erebus found himself exhausted again and his eyes began to droop heavily. He almost did not hear his father speak. "I believe it's time for us to go. I'm sure the Headmaster must be wondering where we are now."

"Get some rest now, Erebus." mumbled his mother, leaning down to plant a kiss on his forehead, after which his father did the same. He was already sound asleep by the time the door to his private ward closed.

_**sSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSs**_

He was certain he hadn't been sleeping for long when he felt someone trying to jerk him awake.

"Erebus dear, I'm sorry to wake you, but you need to know that the Headmaster is on his way to see you," said the familiar voice that was Madam Pomfrey's. Erebus pried his eyes open and saw that the matron was the least bit happy of disturbing her patient.

"I'm sorry dear, I would never do this to any of my patients, especially you, but the Headmaster insist on seeing you today. That man honestly thinks that just because I work here he can order me around." ranted the matron exasperatedly.

"It's okay, Aunt Poppy." said Erebus, pushing himself in a sitting position with the aid of the matron.

"It's definitely not okay!" cried the matron. "You just suffered a major magical burnout! I've told him he can only speak to you for fifteen minutes and I give you permission to tell him so when he tries to extend."

"I will," nodded Erebus, amused at the matron's annoyance of the Headmaster.

"Very well. I'll let him in now." said the matron, walking towards the door after making sure that her charge was comfortable. "Remember Erebus, it is not all up to you to mislead the old man."

"Trust me, I know that now. Plus I think I can handle the Muggle-lover for fifteen minutes, but if not, well, you could always drag him out." said Erebus with a grin. "What is it that the students and faculty call you? Dragon Lady? I'm sure you can drag Dumbledore out if necessary."

"I'll have the greatest pleasure of doing that, you cheeky brat!" expressed Madam Pomfrey before vacating the room to call the Headmaster.

It wasn't a minute after Madam Pomfrey left the room that the door opened again, this time to admit the renowned Headmaster.

"Mr. Riddle, you seem to be doing well. I'd feared that when Madam Pomfrey informed me that you were in the private wards that you'd suffered greatly from your scuffle with Mr. Weasley." said the Headmaster, his jovial aura repulsing the young Slytherin.

"I believe it was my mother who insisted I be placed here, instead of the more – _open_ – public beds." replied Erebus, trying to be cordial to the old wizard.

"Yes yes, Mrs. Riddle. I had the pleasure of meeting her earlier, quite a woman." Dumbledore walked towards him and sat on his bed. "Never meet anyone quite like her. She was particularly insistent that our matron give you the best of care."

"Well, she's protective of her only son," said Erebus smilingly.

"That she is," mumbled Dumbledore, tapping his covered foot affectionately. Erebus fought the urge to pull away. "She was quite furious with Mr. Weasley for landing you in the Hospital wing and tried to have poor Mr. Weasley suspended. But alas, my boy, one cannot suspend a student for a mere scuffle. Boys will be boys. I'm sure you can understand that."

"I do, Professor. It was partially my fault as well." said Erebus, having a gut feeling of where the Headmaster was trying to go.

"Yes, and Mr. Weasley has learnt his lesson as well, though I believed he was released not awhile ago. He only received minor scrapes from the _scuffle_." said Dumbledore.

Erebus sensed a curiosity from the old man so he tried to read through his expression. But it was proving impossible to read and he feared to press further lest he does it wrongly and gets caught. Not knowing what to say to the man, he mere nodded at the statement. What did he care if Weasel stayed in the Infirmary or not?

Dumbledore's face then lost some of its joviality and turned seriously at him. His stomach churned unexpectedly at the look. "Professors Snape and Quirrell said that accidental magic lashed from the both of you, thus resulting to your being here. I must say that I'm impressed at the feat you and Mr. Weasley's magic released. Not many first years students are capable of even releasing such an amount of magic, much less accidental ones."

"I don't really remember much of the incident, Professor." Erebus answered carefully.

"Quite understandable Erebus, do you mind if I call you Erebus?" asked the headmaster, his smile and twinkling eyes back on his face.

'_YES!'_ "Not at all," replied aloud. "I'm sorry I couldn't be of much help, sir."

"Oh, don't worry my boy; I was merely impressed at yours and Mr. Weasley's potentials." said Dumbledore, his insisted tapping of his foot was getting very annoying. "Well, my boy, I best be going now. Unfortunately Madam Pomfrey only gave me fifteen minutes to see you. I do not know if you are aware of it but she has quite a reputation of being overly strict when it comes to visitors."

"I will keep that in mind." smiled Erebus.

"Yes, well good day to you, Mr. Riddle. Hope you get well soon." said Dumbledore, finally getting on his feet.

"Good day to you, sir." he replied as Dumbledore made for the door.

But as soon as the door was properly sealed shut, he cried out. "I hope you choke on your damn lemon drops!"

"EREBUS FERROX RIDDLE!" shouted someone, causing him to startle. "Mind your language young man."

"Oh, Madam Pomfrey," he cried after having spotted the source of his surprise. "You nearly gave me a heart failure."

"And you, young man, gave my ears quite a buzzing with your language." chastised the matron, carrying a tray of potions.

"But it's the Headmaster," whined Erebus, defending himself.

"Be that as it may, but it is your language that is in question, not the recipient of your language." Madam Pomfrey placed her tray on his bedside table and uncorked a blue Healing Draught. He took the offered potion.

"Well then let me rephrase," he said after downing his potion. "I hope he chokes on his inane lemon drops! That good enough?"

"Very much," replied the matron, laughingly. "I will keep you here over night for observation and if all is well, you'll be able to join your classmates just in time for breakfast tomorrow."

"Really? No fussing or snapping potions for me to take? Merlin, you're losing your touch madam, I thought you were the feared Dragon Lady?" said Erebus in jest.

"Oh my, what must I do?" cried Madam Pomfrey, her hand over her chest and mocked fear on her face.

"Madam I believe you are in need of a husband to practice on once more," said Erebus seriously, "May I suggest my godfather, the Potions Master?"

A light smack on the head as well as a scathing look from the matron was duly received.

Thankfully Madam Pomfrey took into stride his ribbing the previous night and released him right on time to the delight of his friends who had come to pick him up the next day.

"Alright Erebus, you're once again fit as a horse. Just please try not to have another burnout, you may not be lucky the next time you do." reminded the thorough matron once more before finally releasing him from his ward. "And you three had better come to me if ever you notice him being all out of it again, understood? Or else I shall have you drink a vial of Professor Snape's foulest potions."

"Aunt Poppy!" cried Erebus in indignation.

"Yes Madam!" cried the other three Slytherins dutifully.

"Alright, get out of here." said Madam Pomfrey, ushering them out of the Infirmary doors. Once they were all completely out of ear-shots of the nurse, Erebus went on about how glad he was to finally be out of the Infirmary.

"Stop complaining Erebus, she's only worried about you. We all were. You can't possible know how scared I was when suddenly white light burst from you and then the next second you and Weasley were lying still on the floor." said Amanda critically. "I thought you'd died and then your father and Professor Snape arrived…"

"Okay Amanda," exclaimed Erebus with raised hands. "I get it, I'm sorry I scared you. I didn't mean to. Things just got out of hand."

"Just learn to be a bit more appreciative sometimes, it won't hurt you." said Amanda in a huff.

Erebus stared incredulously at her friend before turning to find both Draco and Blaise trailing purposely behind them, impish grins on their faces. For the sake of having a peaceful morning after such a traumatic event, Erebus let Amanda's comments slip and the four of them trudged amiably towards the Great Hall. As it so happens that the Slytherin table was located on the other side of the wall, one would have no choice but to pass by the Gryffindor table before reaching their own. And as luck may have it, Weasley chose today to come down to breakfast early together with his posse, and all four Slytherins had the pleasure of showing their plain resentment without hindrance while the Gryffindors could do nothing but scowl at them in the presence of the professors.

None of them noticed the absence of one other Gryffindor in Weasley's gang.

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**A/N:** read and review..

'til next post

**_dan4eva_**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: **I am so sorry if i wasn't able to post this chapter sooner... I had a lot of things to do in the holidays that i haven;t done in awhile... I needed to catch up on some reading, you can't imagine the pile of novels i'd bought in preparation for the holiday... I guess i just ghot too caught up...

Well anyway, this chapter had been done awhile back and i'm sorry if it's a bit short compared to the others, i've been having a tough time trying to fix a few plot plans... (hint: how to end the whole Stone fiasco)... But no worries, i've fixed it now so hopefully i'll be able to write some more now...

This chapter ain't beta'd so please please try to pardon the mistakes wherever they maybe. AnimeHarryPotterFreak, please please give me a PM is you are reading this....

**Disclaimer: **Not mine....  
**

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**Chapter 11**

"Would you two please wipe those smirks off your faces?"

"Oh come on Blaise, don't be a spoil sport. Don't tell me you did not enjoy that, what kind of Slytherin are you?"

"I'll have you know Dray, that I'm the kind of Slytherin that keeps the two of you out of trouble," Blaise continued to trail slightly behind the group as Erebus turned around, the said smirk gracing his impish face.

"What trouble, Blaise?" the boy asked, slinging an arm over the Italian wizard. "Didn't we just evade trouble?"

"Yeah Blaise, lighten up. Reby definitely has." piped Amanda, not meeting the scowl that temporarily erased the smirk on the dark haired boy's face.

Over the week that had passed since he was released from the Infirmary, Erebus' temperament had taken a definite turn for the better. He was definitely still uptight and proud most of the time, but at least he no longer scared off those who approached him and true to his word, he sure as hell didn't try to restrain himself as much anymore. In fact, of all the time he'd spent at the castle, he'd never felt as good as he was feeling now. He was now free to flex his creative mind, within limit of course, and those who annoyed him greatly were a testament to that, most of which were of course Gryffindors.

And the latest victim of his now liberated self was none other than James '_World's Biggest Arse'_ Potter.

It took him awhile to come up with a brilliant of scheme to put the Gryffindor in place and to show him just how pathetic he really was and what he eventually came up with was simple enough to avoid Dumbledore's suspicions but definitely embarrassing enough to incur Potter's ire. What better way to humiliate the man than with his own sword?

_**sSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSs**_

_It was their first Defence class of the week and as expected, Potter was still going on and on about the little duelling challenge he'd set up not a few weeks ago. Surprisingly, the only one with any real potential that Erebus saw that was outside his own band of friends was Patil, the loud Indian girl from Gryffindor. Whether it be my luck or potential, she had managed to disarm Finnigan with an inventive use both the Disarming Spell and some sort of tradition Indian hex._

_Due to his brief stint in the Infirmary, he'd missed his opportunity to have a go at duelling and since it was the last day of Potter's ridiculous challenge, Erebus took his chance to show them just how much of himself he was holding back._

"_Riddle!" cried James in response to his raised hand._

"_If I may be so bold sir, could I please have a duel with you?" asked Erebus, receiving a handful of gob-smacked looks from the rest of his class. It was only his group that refrained from staring idiotically at him._

"_And why would you want that, Mr. Riddle?" questioned James in return, his face a mask of annoyance._

_Erebus arranged himself properly in his seat and put on his most innocent looking face. "Well sir, you've told us all in length at how great you __**once were**__…"_

"_Still is!" barked Potter irritably._

"_My apologies sir," said Erebus delicately, his friends barely containing their mirth. "You've told us all how great you __**still are**__ in a duel and you have been encouraging as so to be our best so as to achieve the same level of mastery you have attained. I just thought it be more encouraging to us if you gave us a demonstration of how – __**skilful**__ – you really are."_

"_And you think you can outmatch me, Mr. Riddle?" snapped James, leaning cockily on his desk, arrogance reeking from every single one of the man's orifices. _

"_I could never dream of it, sir." Erebus gasped. "I'm just an eager student wanting to learn from the best."_

"_Humph!" scoffed James. But as he did so, he rolled up his sleeves and descended the teacher's podium to stand on the temporary platform he'd erected for the challenges. "Very well Mr. Riddle, I shall grant you your request. Though be warned, I will not go easy on you."_

_Erebus hid a smirk. "Then I will try to keep up, sir." Draco gave him a good luck pat on the back as he walked up to the platform, but the way he was looking at things, it was Potter who was in need of a good luck charm. _

"_If you know any third year spells, you are free to use them because since you are but a first year, the duel will only be up to third year level. Is that understood?" said James in his booming voice._

"_Yes sir," replied Erebus._

"_Very well, wands at a ready!" James proceeded to his duelling stance while Erebus pretended to be nervous and fumbled about with his duelling stance. All of the Slytherins that knew him growing up sniggered at his obvious attempt to be helpless and clueless while the Gryffindors all ate up his act, cheering loudly for their professor, and as per Gryffindor pride, James Potter milked up their support for all it was worth._

'_He's a bloody showman!' thought Erebus in derision. 'This will be a piece of cake! Watch out everyone, you're about to see a protégé!'_

_Potter attacked first, sending in a volley of offensive spells towards him. Erebus faked a shriek and ducked behind a desk which immediately fell into pieces as it received a few of Potter's spells. "Get up Riddle! No duellist hides behind a desk!" cried Potter, clearly enjoying himself on his expense. _

_Erebus fought the urge to attack the man with an Unforgivable, he was after all only eleven, and instead emerged from behind the desk with a look that could chill. Potter took a step back at his look but as quickly as the expression had been on his face, it vanished. Erebus took Potter's brief disorientation to send his own concoction of spells flying towards the man._

"_Expelliarmus! Expelliarmus! Diffindo!"_

_Potter dodged the first two but failed to avoid the Severing Charm as it sailed right through his teaching robes, perfectly cutting off the hem. Erebus smirked impishly at the man's stunned look and avoided the jet of blue light that came racing towards him by falling down on his stomach. Now things were heating up a bit, thought the boy excitedly. The students around them screamed and cheered as spells were exchanged and dodged repeatedly._

_In the time they were exchanging spells, Erebus found occasions to pretend to fumble through the pronunciation of spells and with innocently shocked eyes managed to turn the man's robes transparent, his hair to come falling off and for his skin to take in a neon green colour. "Oops, sorry sir, was it supposed to do that?" _

_The Slytherin's display of clumsiness with the wand and rendering him a laughing stock annoyed the older Gryffindor to the extent that his spells now reached a higher degree of intensity, causing Erebus to run wildly around the room so as to dodge the majority of his spells. _

_When while running from a threatening looking jet of red light, Erebus' hip collided with a desk, causing the boy to temporarily halt and get hit on the side of his arm. The girls shrieked as blood oozed out of his wounded arm. His arm stung a lot but not as much as when it was the Circle he was training with, and so Erebus stood up and faced his professor with a look he had adopted from his dear godfather. Unfortunately for him, Potter's back was towards him as he happy lapped up the cheer his former House gave him. Erebus sneered, letting out all the frustrations he had been feeling towards his professor show on his face, and with the agility of trained warrior, he sent out a series of spells that hit their mark._

"_Expelliarmus! Tarantallegra! Tallantalegra!"_

_At first the crowd merely stared in confusion as the spell seem to have no effect on the man but then when Potter's legs started to jerk around to an unheard tune, the Slytherins guffawed in delight. The professor was doing some sort of upbeat Irish Jig and was waving his hands about above his head in an attempt to steady his jerking legs, and with his now bald head and green skin, the man looked like an overgrown imp and Erebus could not help but join his House in their laughter as he descended the platform to Amanda's worried expression._

"_Are you alright?" she asked, lightly brushing off the debris if the duel from his arm._

"_It's just a scratch," said Erebus, which was true, the arm had stopped bleeding not long after it was first cut. "Just leave it be."_

"_But it could get an infection!" argued Amanda._

"_No it won't," said Erebus, appeasing his friend. "Just leave it be for now, you'll see why later."_

_After a full minute of jiggling wildly about the room, Potter finally managed wordlessly negate the spell and he collapsed in a heap on the floor, utterly exhausted. However once the ex-Auror had caught his breath, he marched angrily towards the Slytherins and forcefully grabbed Erebus' uninjured arm._

"_Mr. Riddle, you will come with me to the Headmaster's office!" Potter made a dash for the door, ignoring the indignant screams of the Slytherins. "Class dismissed!"_

_Erebus had on his face something a kin to a dark Cheshire grin as he was forcefully dragged through the corridors. Potter spat the password once they got to the stone gargoyle that guarded the Headmaster's office and practically hauled him onto the revolving staircase. This time Erebus allowed a moan to escape his lips as Potter arm dug painfully into his arm._

"_Sir, please, you're hurting me." he whined._

"_Shut up, Riddle! You brought this unto yourself, now let's go!" snapped Potter, who all but dragged him up the spiral staircase. _

"_James, what is the meaning of this?!" cried the Headmaster in shock at the sight of them. "Mr. Riddle?" Dumbledore went around his desk to stand before his former student._

"_Albus," said James, depositing Erebus on an empty chair. "That boy has embarrassed me in my class. Look what he did to me!"_

"_Surely James this does not merit my presence." said Dumbledore kindly._

"_Yes it does, Albus. Look at what he did to me!" ranted James, waving his hand wildly around his body._

"_In my eyes, he has only made you look more tolerable." said a familiar voice._

_Potter, along with him and the Headmaster whipped around at the sound of the voice and found his godfather standing by the door, the famous Snape glare planted on his face as he regarded the Defence professor._

"_Snivellus!" spat James._

"_Potter." sneered Severus, the only civility he could procure for the man._

"_What are you doing here? I don't recall you being turned into Headmaster." intoned James._

"_I am here because Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Zabini and Ms. Michaels all barged into my office screaming that a student of mine had been injured and was unlawfully taken up to the Headmaster." Severus turned to look at Erebus, who's shirt was stained red, and glared further at the Gryffindor. "It seems that they were right."_

"_Severus, James, let us all discuss this calmly. There is no point in hostility." Dumbledore's tone was sharp and final. The two childhood rivals continued to glare at each other to the death but refrained from anymore verbal exchanges._

"_Now James, what exactly happened in your class?" asked Dumbledore once he had taken his seat behind his large desk._

"_We were having a duel, and that – that Slytherin snake did this to me!" cried James._

"_And why would you even think of duelling with an eleven year old?" came Severus' disbelieving voice._

"_Ask him!" James pointed at Erebus._

"_Mr. Riddle?" Dumbledore turned towards the boy and surveyed him with genial eyes._

"_Headmaster, sir," began Erebus, perfecting his innocent look with a twinge of fear in his eyes. "I only wanted to see how a real duel was like and I never meant to turn Professor Potter's skin green or for his hair to fall off. I kinda just mumbled through the spells. I'm sorry sir."_

"_He's lying. He knew perfectly well what he was doing!" said James._

"_And how is that, Potter? He's a first year; you can hardly expect him to be a seasoned duellist. However you on the other hand are a former Auror, don't tell me you couldn't handle a fumbling first year and had to run to Dumbledore when he outsmarted you?" snapped Snape, now standing behind his student._

"_I don't know about him being a seasoned duelist, but he's a Slytherin, don't tell his parents have not taught him some kind of Dark spell or something!"_

"_How dare you!" snarled Severus._

"_Enough! James! Severus! Do not make a fool of yourselves in front of a student. For Merlin Sake you two are grown men." chastised the Headmaster._

"_Do something about him." said James, leaning forwards on the Headmaster's desk. "He's disrespected a professor."_

"_Now James, be reasonable. The child did no harm. All that I see are reversible." replied Dumbledore, surveying all those before him calmly._

"_In fact, I think it is you who caused my student harm." said Severus, indicating Erebus' bloodied arm._

_Dumbledore's eyes immediately turned towards Erebus' arm, as having noticed it for the first time. "I see," he mumbled suspiciously to himself. _

"_Albus," said James, snapping the Headmaster from whatever he was thinking of. "What will you do?"_

"_Nothing, my boy." stated the old wizard simply. "I do not find Mr. Riddle at fault at all. Dueling can cause various outcomes, James, you of all people should know that."_

"_But he humiliated me!" cried James, literally screaming at Dumbledore's face._

"_Yes, I'm sure Mr. Riddle meant none of it, am I right?" Dumbledore turned to regard Erebus._

"_Not at all Professor. I'm so sorry." he answered meekly._

"_If that is all Albus, I would like to take Mr. Riddle up to the Infirmary." Severus moved around to grab Erebus by the elbows._

"_Yes, that is all Severus, you may take Mr. Riddle up to the Hospital Wing," said Dumbledore, after which he turned to the said boy. "And do not worry Mr. Riddle, none of this will go on any permanent record. Professor Potter is just stressed out, especially with the Ministry relying on his expertise all the time."_

"_Thank you sir," lied Erebus through his teeth._

_As the two Slytherins departed from the Headmaster's office, they both heard James Potter throw one hell of a tantrum. Erebus just could not help but laugh out loud once they were away from hearing distance. _

"_You will be the death of me, child." mumbled Severus wearily._

"_You always say that," said Erebus. His godfather then turned him around and he was graced with a look that was both half amused and half annoyed. "What?" he rebutted cheekily._

"_You __**will**__ be the death of me," repeated Severus, lifting up his godson's sleeve so as to have a better look of his wound._

"_It's just a flesh wound, Uncle Sev." said Erebus as his Head of House fingered his arm gently._

"_You shouldn't let Poppy see that. For Salazar's sake you were just released last week. The way things are going, you should just move in with her." said Severus, casting a healing charm on the arm and then a cleaning charm on the stained shirt. "There, good as new, but do not over use it."_

"_I won't. Thanks." Erebus flexed his arm around and around as they continued their walk back to the dungeons._

"_I must say I'm impressed, to have reduced Potter like that, genius Reby, pure genius." commented his godfather, an indulgent smile on his face._

"_You should have seen him while we were duelling," said Erebus animatedly. "Did you know he wears red boxers with twinkling stars on them? Too bad he reversed it before we could see more."_

_Severus halted and stared at him disbelievingly before saying in between fits of laughter, "I want to see that," It was a good thing they were now in Slytherin territory or else students would fall dead at the sight of their Potions Master laughing openly as he was now._

"_All up in here," smiled Erebus, pointing up at his head. By the time they'd reached the Potions Master's office, Severus had finally regained control of his facial expressions and the only indication of his mirth was the subtle brightness in his eyes._

"_Alright Reby, you should go and find your friends. They were extremely worried about you being dragged up to the Headmaster's office by Potter."_

"_See you later then," waved Erebus as he bounded back up the corridor. _

_**sSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSs**_

By the end of the day, the events of their Defence class had made it around the student population and it was to no surprise that it was all the buzz by dinner time. It also did not help the rumours when James Potter, his hair now restored, arrived at the Great Hall with an evident twinge of green still on his skin.

Erebus, however glad he was at gaining a small victory over Potter, now wished he'd done it in a less public manner. Ever since he got back from the Headmaster's office, he'd never heard the end of students telling him how brilliant he was in pranking the professor like that. Really, must they reiterate the event as if he had not been there himself? By the time he arrived at the Hall for dinner, a headache had planted itself well between his eyes.

"You should just get a Headache Potion from Madam Pomfrey," suggested Draco at seeing his cousin pinching the bridge of his nose.

"And let her see my arm?" countered Erebus, "I am not suicidal."

"You're being dramatic Reby," said Amanda, furling the evening package she had just received.

The boy blinked. "Dramatic? Me? Dramatic?" cried Erebus incredulously. "Tell her Ray!"

"Aunt Poppy has a reputation of being overly protective of her charges, most especially on us, she treats us as family after all and vice-versa." explained Draco, spooning himself a plate of mashed potatoes.

"If she sees me with an injury less than a week after releasing me, she'll have a fit," said Erebus firmly, hoping to put an end to the discussion.

"I do recall a time when we were eight and you'd just recovered from a bad bout of influenza. She fervidly told you not to attend the er – _festivities_ – and by that I mean Muggle Hunting of course. But you still did and ended up being strapped to you bed, drinking endless vials of potion for two more weeks. Even your mother could not stop her from constant fussing of you for disobeying her orders." said Blaise carefully, a reminiscing look on his face.

"I did not need reminding of that incident, _Blaise."_ drawled Erebus dangerously which the boy merely took in stride.

"Then just get one from the professor is you're so adamant to avoid the matron," said Amanda, browsing idly at the _Evening Prophet_ as she ate her dinner.

"Anything interesting in the papers?" asked Draco conversationally, his cousin much too riled up to be up for any sort of conversation.

"Not really," she replied, folding the paper before looking up and handing it to the blonde. "Just some continuing report about how the goblins are displeased with Dumbledore."

"The goblins are speaking out against Dumbledore?" Draco took the offered paper and spread it out before him, looking for the said article.

"Apparently he's done something the goblins didn't like," said Amanda. "Something about relieving them of a precious artefact."

"It won't be the first," mumbled Draco. "That old man takes them too much for granted while the Ministry underestimates them to the point that they treat them like they're some lowly creatures with no brain. I'm glad they've chosen this time to speak out."

Considering that Erebus was not in the best of moods, dinner went as smoothly as it could in the Slytherin table. However a furious growl soon brought all of their attention towards the High Table.

"I am gonna get that kid," mumbled James, viciously stabbing his slab of meat.

"James, the kid did no harm to you," said Remus, trying in vain to make his friend see reason.

"No harm, Moony? The brat made a laughing stock of me in front of my class." whispered the ex-Auror harshly.

"It was a harmless prank, Prongs." said Remus, rephrasing his words. "You of all people should not get affected by a prank."

"I love a good prank, Moony, you know I do, but he nearly stripped me starkers and I bloody glow green in the dark! That boy is evil to the core I tell you." ranted James in ire. "He was basically a Muggle with a long stick in my class a few weeks ago and then all of a sudden he asks for a duel? And this is the result! That boy is evil. He may be able to fool Albus with his innocent look, but not me."

"Evil?" said Remus in disbelief, taking a brief glance of the boy who was sulking amongst his friends. "It's a childish prank. How'd you even come up with that kind of conclusion?"

"I was an Auror, Moony, before Maggie got me settled down and she may have taken me from the force, but you can't take the force out of me. I've sensed a lot of Dark Wizards before and that kid there; he is way up my sensory list. There is something about him that screams evil, Moony. I can feel it." said James passionately.

"James…" Remus began only to be stopped by his friend.

"No, Remus!" barked James, gaining the attention of the entire hall. "I'm a _green_; he's a bloody snake and is evil. Period."

"James Potter!" Minerva McGonagall glared disapproving at her former student as she gestured for the rest of those in the hall to resume eating their dinner.

Remus sighed; James could be so childish and prejudiced sometimes. He took another look at Erebus and this time he found the boy looking straight at him. The boy's eyes were locked directly on his and it unnerved him how inquisitive they were. Usually whenever he got a close glimpse of the boy, there would be a visible fleck of red in his eyes, yet now however, despite their distance; Remus could see that that they were now clearly a brilliant shade of green. That old familiar feeling blossomed once more inside Remus. He could swear he had seen those same inquisitive eyes before.

_**sSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSs**_

It was very late into the night and he had just gone to get himself a glass of brandy to help him through the small pile of essays he still needed to grade when the door to his private quarters chimed distinctly, immediately alerting him of the presence of a certain someone.

"Quirinus," said Severus, wary of any prying eyes and opened the door just a little wider to allow the man entry into his chambers. Once the door was closed and warded behind them, Quirrell/Voldermort slopped himself uncharacteristically onto Severus' leather arm chair by the fire.

"What do I owe this late night visit, Tom?" asked Severus, going over to his liquor cabinet to offer the man a drink. "Brandy or whiskey?"

"Brandy, please." replied the Dark Lord. "I needed someone to bounce off ideas to."

Severus quirked an eyebrow as he handed the man the preferred drink. "You couldn't do the _bouncing_ through the Orbs?"

"I needed the exercise, Quirrell is beginning to resist." said Tom, flexing and stretching his stiff body.

"Didn't you only release him two weeks ago?" inquired Severus, making himself comfortable on his other arm chair, essays completely forgotten.

"I know. But I want to test how long I can possess him and he's resisting me. It is absolutely draining to have to release myself from the fool every other week and now I have this inane voice in my head shouting at me. I swear if I didn't need this body I would have killed it long ago." Tom took the glass of brandy in his hands and downed it all in one shot.

"I'm assuming you've had no luck yet," conversed Severus casually, effectively changing the topic.

Quirrell's face sank dejectedly as Lord Voldemort said, "No. None whatsoever. We need some kind of distraction."

"Anything we do will only make the old man suspicious," said Severus carefully, wary of the Dark Lord's temper.

"I bloody well know that, Severus!" snapped Tom, glaring at his long time friend. "Hence the reason I am here, to bounce things off."

The two men were silent for awhile, both contemplating on ways to get under Dumbledore's radar, even for just a couple of minutes. It was then that Severus got up from his chair to refill their now empty glasses. "It's almost Halloween," he commented.

The Dark Lord merely grunted in response, the occasion being a sour subject within the Circle and immediate family. "Everyone would be in the Great Hall for Dumbledore's yearly celebratory feast," Severus continued placidly, poring more brown liquor into both their glasses.

Quirrrell's eyes narrowed at him and said, "What are you on about?"

"Think about it Tom, we know that the old man likes to boost the people's faith in him by celebrating his… defeat over you, so to speak." said Severus tactfully. "If we were to go down during that time, he'll be too busy and full of himself to pay close attention on the corridor."

"It could work," agreed the Dark Lord. "But we are still in need of a distraction."

"What say you about a certain Zabini family pet?" offered Severus. Lord Voldemort raised a brow in surprise.

* * *

**A/N: **There you go! I hope you liked how i dealt with James..... hehehe.... Starkers. (HAHAHAHA).

**A/N2: **I haven't asked this for a bery long time but please review.... YOUR comments keep me going. I would really love to hear what you think of my story, the longer the better. It's kinda difficult to figure out what you like about a story if you just keep saying 'update soon' or 'nice chapter'

And I'd like to thank **Slytherin66** for all the things you've said, they really help in dealing with all my stories.

Read and review...

'til next post

_**dan4eva**_


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N:** There is no excuse for my absence so I'm not gonna make one. This is the longest I've made so far (not that I can't make longer ones) and I must say that I had fun writing the last bits.

This is unbeta'd. I seem to be lacking those a lot lately. This is my second search for a beta so if anyone's interested int being my beta for all of my stories ( i don't like having different betas per story) just drop me a PM.

**Disclaimer:** Bugger off will you!! Must I answer this again???

* * *

**Chapter 12**

"Tell me again why we're out here in the pitch so early on a Saturday morning." Erebus intoned grumpily, tugging at his robes to ward off the cold air. Winter was definitely fast approaching.

"Gryffindor's having their first Quidditch practice today," replied Amanda, leading them up to the highest part of the bleachers. "Flint wanted eyes to see if they're any good this year."

"Right," mumbled the pale boy half heartedly, sitting down on the bench that gave him the best view of the pitch.

"And Draco has detention with McGonagall while the others are stuck doing homework, so it's just you and me." Amanda sat down beside Erebus and carefully laid out some of the toast she'd nicked from the Slytherin table and gave them to Erebus. "Plus I think you needed the air, you've been awfully cranky lately."

Erebus huffed, taking the offered toast, but did not comment further. Five minutes later the Gryffindor Quidditch team finally emerged from the changing rooms, completely clad in Quidditch gear. This year's team was under the helm of a lanky boy he knew to be in the same year as Flint and by the look of his gear, he was also the team's Keeper. Three girls held the Chaser position while two red heads he knew to be the Weasley twins held the Beater position. He then sniggered at the sudden thought of Crabbe and Goyle going up against the twins, those two brute gorillas plus the twin's instincts would definitely be a good show to watch. Perhaps he could convince Flint into putting them in the team somewhere in the near future just for kicks.

He also noted that the latest addition to the team was an awkward looking boy of around thirteen or fourteen as Seeker. The captain, whose name he'd finally recalled to be Wood, had the team doing a couple of laps around the pitch before mounting their brooms and taking to the skies. Ten minutes into the practice Erebus gave off a soft disgruntled snort before picking up the book he'd brought along, no longer interested in watching the ongoing practice.

A few more minutes passed and a sudden jerky dive from the Gryffindor Seeker caused Amanda to shriek out in surprise and to take hold of her friend's hand who seemed to be too absorbed in his book to notice.

"Erebus," started Amanda once she'd calmed down enough to confront her friend. "Can't you just lay off the books for awhile and enjoy yourself? You've been rather recluse and cranky ever since that duel with Potter Sr. What's eating you?"

The sole heir to the Dark closed his book, making sure that his finger was between the pages to mark off where he'd stopped and stared nonchalantly at his friend. "Technically nothing is eating me and if there was something out there that wants to eat me, they'd have to get through my godfather first and then my mother would bring it back to life only to kill it again later after which my father would…"

"You know what I mean, Reby!" cried Amanda in frustration, drawing out a frown from the boy at the use of the dreaded moniker.

"Can't you for once just leave things be?" snapped Erebus though there was no real ire in his voice.

"You of all people should now by now that I can't just leave things be." she said, smiling sickly sweet at him.

"Lucky me," drawled Erebus, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Amanda socked him lightly on the arms before retreating back into her previous demeanour. "Come on Erebus, you can tell me."

"You know you need to have that _gift _of yours checked out." said Erebus all of a sudden, throwing her into a loop.

"Huh?" she mumbled none too eloquently, which of course did not go unnoticed by the prim, though not as much as his sleek haired cousin, rising Prince of Slytherin.

"Your gift of perception." Erebus elaborated, pointing at her head. "I know you're sensitive to magical auras, you felt mine that night in the dormitories." Amanda shivered as she remembered the state of her friend when she'd found him wallowing in himself. "You should also know that it's not only me that you should be sensing feeling down in the dumps this week."

"I've felt the others as well, so you don't have to go saying that I'm faulty." said Amanda, slightly annoyed and swatting her friend's hand away from her head. "It's just that you and Professor Quirrell seem to feel more affected by whatever it is that is causing such distress."

"So you've felt father too." Erebus said absentmindedly, more as a statement than a question, rubbing the faint jagged scar that had been concealed beneath his hair line. The scar was a remnant of the Killing Curse that Dumbledore had thrown towards him and his father that unfaithful Halloween night. According to his mother, he and his father had tried to throw off the curse but since he was only a baby, the curse was only partially thrown off, leaving him with a nothing but a scar and a profound bond with his father none of them could explain; while his father received the brunt of the dreaded curse. All throughout his childhood he could always sense where his father was, what he was feeling and in recent times, managed to share each others thoughts; though he rarely did it since he had yet to master a higher level in Legilimency that was required to access his father's thought without draining himself magically. This was why even without seeing his father during the majority of his youth that he'd always felt close with the man and that the bond only strengthened itself when they were physically close to each other.

Erebus closed his eyes and allowed his mind to wander deep into his mental shields until he found the connection that allowed him to tap into his father's subconscious. As expected his father's gentle mental caresses helped him soothe out all of his excess anxiety.

"Yeah," nodded Amanda, watching how her friend's face became more relaxed and opened his eyes once more to reveal a swirl of red mixing in with the green. "But I figured he wouldn't answer even if I dared to ask him."

The cold wind howled viciously, sending the flags of each team to wave dangerously off the turrets. "It's nearly Halloween." said Erebus after awhile, his voice barely carrying over the loud flapping of the flags and banners around the pitch.

"Halloween? Isn't that the time –" Amanda began slowly only to clap her hands over her mouth in horror as the significance of the event clicked sharply in her mind. "Oh Erebus, I'm so sorry. I'm so stupid! I should have figured it out, what kind of friend am I? I'm so sorry…"

Erebus could do nothing but stare as his friend started mumbling apologies repeatedly under her breath. It was not as if he'd never seen an emotional girl before, he'd had his fair share of comforting and reassuring a very distraught Anna, who was prone to hysteria when faced with successive failures. Oh yes, he'd definitely had experience with emotional girls; it was merely the fact that the emotional strain of going through another Halloween celebration was making him even more unsympathetic towards the feelings of others. Who was he to care about others when he himself was struggling with emotions that were not only his, but also that of his father's? But then the sensible part of him that told him that Amanda was indeed a true friend kicked in and he suddenly found himself trying to reassure his friend that he did not blame her of her ignorance.

"It's alright Mandy," he said, having taken her chilled hand in his and started rubbing it in the same way he would whenever Anna was distraught.

"No it's not!" argued the red haired Slytherin. "I should have been more considerate. I already possess this so called _gift_, but I still didn't figure out why everyone was feeling so agitated. What kind of friend am I?"

"A friend who is so concerned with her friends' well-being that she sometimes forgets that the simplest solution is all she needs," said Erebus, inwardly smiling softly at the distraught girl, noticing how her lips puckered in the slightest manner. It was quite endearing.

Amanda pulled her hand from Erebus' hold and crossed her arms before her chest. "But still, I should have known! I've been extremely insensitive to your feelings I'm surprised you haven't gotten tired of how I always seem to badger you with what your thoughts are. Salazar, I feel like an idiotic Gryffindor!" She then proceeded to throw her hand up in the air

"Now there's no need to insult yourself!" cried Erebus with a frown. "I didn't expect you to know the significance of the date; in fact I'd be very surprised if you did, after all it is only our family who goes through this every year. You've only been around us for a few months; I don't expect you to know every little detail about us. You have nothing to feel sorry about."

"Are you sure?" asked Amanda timidly. "I could stop from sensing your magic and all for the rest of the day if you want me to."

This time Erebus did smile gratefully at her, "That would be very much appreciated." Then all of a sudden a scaly grey head poked out from beneath his robes and started hissing in aggravation, its forked tongue flickering in the air.

'_Tisssss too cold here Erebusssss. I don't like the cold. Take me back now! NOWWWWW!' _

'_I told you to sssstay with my ssssire but you wouldn't lissssten. It'ssss your fault you're nowww cold.' _ Erebus hissed in reply, confident that with the wind howling, no one would hear him.

'_I sssspend all my time with your sssssire, I feeeeel like you're trying to get ridddd of meeee.' _

Erebus never thought it possible for a snake to whine until that moment. He then proceeded to pull his cloak tighter around the scaly reptile just so as to keep it from trying to escape from his person and away from the cold. _'Ssssssshiva you are being overly dramatic. You arrrre my familiar, I wouldn't be able to get riddd of you even ifffff I tried.'_

'_Ssssso ifffff I were not you're ffffamiliar you'll get rid off meee?!' _hissed Shiva indignantly.

Erebus chuckled lightly at the tone of his familiar's voice before pulling up his sleeve to allow the snake to coil itself around his arm and all the way to his shoulder. If it wasn't for the Feather Light charm that he placed on the snake whenever he would take it with him, his body would have sagged down at the dead weight of the large snake. _'You ssssilly ssssserpent! Did you ssssneak in to my ssssire'sssss liquor cabinet again?'_

'_I mossssst ccccertainly did not!' _ cried the snake, though this time Erebus did notice a distinct swaying in the snake's movement.

'_Liar!' _hissed Erebus, tugging at his sleeves to hide the snake from view. _'Now just ssssstay there, we're almosssst done.'_

'_Hissssy hisssy little sssssnakey want to sssssee little micey…' _Erebus tried not to laugh out loud in public at the ludicrous antics of his familiar. He'd definitely have to tell his father to ward off all of his liquor whenever his familiar came to visit. It was hilarious to watch a drunken snake, but he didn't think he could handle all of it for a whole day, especially if he was the only who was subjected to hear it all.

When Amanda first heard Erebus speaking to his familiar, she was more or less surprised to hear the exchange of hissing between master and familiar. Not having grown up in the prejudiced society that wrapped itself around the Wizarding World, she found no marks of evil in her friend's gift. Sure it was eerie at first having to hear the sharp hissing sounds coming from both human and animal mouths, but now it was just part of their everyday life in the castle. She was certain that she would now not be able to picture Erebus without having to put in a secondary hissing sound in the background trying to make itself be known.

As she watched the exchange between Erebus and his familiar, she couldn't help but wonder what they were talking about that was causing the usually indifferent boy to shake with restrained laughter.

After some time a whistle sounded in the distance, signaling the end of the practice session.

"Bloody hell!" shouted Amanda, jumping from her seat to lean over down to the pitch. "We missed their practice, what are we going to tell Flint?!"

"Calm down, Amanda." said Erebus, who was nothing but glad to be able to get back inside the castle and warm up.

Amanda turned to face the dark haired youth in disbelief. "You didn't even bother watching!"

"Because to be perfectly honest there was nothing to watch." replied Erebus, picking up the napkin that was now completely void of toast.

"What do you mean?" asked Amanda, going back to where they were seated.

"Flint is just being a typical Slytherin – he's being paranoid. It's a very common trait amongst those in our House." explained Erebus. "He wants all his bases covered and that means sending out a bunch of first years to spy on the opposing team to see what they've got when all the while he's already got a fool proof strategy to win."

"So he's tricked us!" Amanda was quick to point out, clearly annoyed.

"In a way, but if it's House unity we're talking about, it's entirely different. But then again I agree with you, he knows perfectly that Gryffindor doesn't stand a chance against us now that the great Charlie Weasley is out of Hogwarts."

"Exactly how many Weasleys are there?" questioned Amanda with at sour look on her face.

"Too many." Erebus replied in equal distaste. He then stood up and grabbed her hand, taking her towards the edge of the bleachers and pointed out a skinny looking boy. "You see that boy over there? He's the new Seeker, roughly around thirteen years of age, give or take a few months. He's small enough to fit the position but he's clumsy in the air. The number of times his broom's veered of in the opposite direction of where he really intended to go should tell us enough that Higgs would have no problem in catching the Snitch right under the Gryffindor Seeker's nose."

"You're telling me you saw all of this in the brief moment you were watching them?" demanded Amanda in disbelief.

"Yes." replied Erebus plainly. "Plus you see over there, even the captain isn't so confident. Remember that if one player performs badly, the entire team gets dragged right behind. The only thing that may salvage the Gryffindor team is that if the Weasley twins knock all the Slytherin players out, which of course is completely impossible."

"And all that time you were sitting there reading your journal you already have all this down? I had to struggle to pick out things that were worthy enough to report back to Flint, why didn't you tell me?!" cried Amanda in annoyance, though there was a layer of awe in her voice. After all who wouldn't be impressed at someone who was able to properly observe a practice game all the while immersed in a completely different topic?

"Don't feel bad Amanda, not all of us are gifted with keen eyes and superior brain power." said Erebus rather smugly, causing the blue eyed girl to huff in irritation.

"Whatever!" she snapped, glaring at her friend. "Let's go back inside. I feel like I'm under a bloody Freezing Charm."

The walk back down from the bleachers was done in relative silence since both of them were trying their best to avoid the throng of people who had come to watch the Gryffindor practice despite the cold winds, most of which were of course Gryffindors. Some of the older years threw them dirty looks because since when were Slytherins ever invited to a Gryffindor practice? As they crossed the pitch, Erebus didn't know whether to be disappointed or be glad that Weasley and his friends were standing on the far side of the field and therefore focused on bolstering his mental shields, he would need all of his shields up if he was to get through the whole week leading to the dreaded event.

The silence and familiarity of the dungeons was a welcomed relief to the two freezing Slytherins, especially for Erebus who found close proximity to insolent chattering maddening. All morning his scar had done nothing but pulsate sharply due to the changing moods his father was feeling and the fact that they were now both in the same castle surrounded by some of the dirt society produced was not helping him to alleviate the pain. He was about to utter the password that would grant them entrance into the sanctuary that the Slytherin common room provided when a tentative hand tugged at his arm.

"I'm really sorry." Amanda said in a timid voice once he's turned around to face her.

"I know you are," said Erebus quietly, gently rubbing his aching scar. "But you couldn't have possibly known if you hadn't asked someone. It's okay."

_**sSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSs**_

The week leading up to Halloween was the most difficult Erebus and his family had ever experienced. Over the years the Riddle family and its many extensions in the Dark have learnt to ignore the obscenely Muggle interpretation of an ancient festival and the events that happened ten years ago through various _means, _which of course mostly included Muggle baiting and Muggle torture. However since nearly all of them were stationed at Hogwarts this year, none of the traditional distractions they usually did was possible without drawing too much attention. And it was proving to be too much of a strain for those closely involved. Erebus had already downed his godfather's and the Infirmary's entire stock of headache potion two days before the actual feast and now had nothing to help him dumb his growing headache.

This year it seemed, much to their deep seethed annoyance, Dumbledore wanted to go all out to celebrate the first decade anniversary of the Dark Lord's demise, going as far as transfiguring the entire Great Hall into a graveyard, complete with fog, live bats, weeping willows and –

"Is that what I think it is?" growled Erebus as soon as he'd step foot into the magically enchanted Great Hall, looking ready to spit out nails at the Headmaster's main decoration.

"What is?" asked Draco, looking up at the sea of people, trying to find what had caught his cousin's ire. The four long House tables had all disappeared, leaving a large space in the middle, and on the sides were smaller circular tables draped in black that seated exactly six people. And to add more to the atrocities Dumbledore had created for the event, each table was adorned with a totally Muggle creation – a Jack-o-lantern!

"The lanterns are not that bad." commented Amanda, examining the Jack-o-lantern that was on the closest vacant table. "A bit too gaudy for my taste, but I guess Dumbledork wants to make the Mudbloods feel like they belong here by modifying ancient traditions to fit Muggle symbolism."

"It's a pity really, that wizards tend to accommodate Muggle traditions rather than upholding our own beliefs just so that mudbloods feel comfortable in our world." Draco added in, staring at the offending pumpkin in disgust.

"Not the lanterns!" cried Erebus, not having even seen the orange creations. No, the moment he'd entered the hall his uniquely coloured eyes immediately landed on the giant slab of stone placed right where the High Table used to be. There were only two words inscribed on the stone, but they were enough to make his blood boil.

_Lord Voldemort_

"Oh no, he didn't!" Blaise uttered in complete shock, just having spotted the source of Erebus' anger.

"Merlin!" Amanda's hand was over her mouth but it did not conceal her burning blue eyes.

"Have the professors seen this?" asked Draco, obviously referring to the Potions Master and the Defence Professor.

"They're seeing it now…" Erebus mumbled through the pain that had suddenly erupted in his head, prompting him to collapse on an empty chair. But as quickly as the pain had come, it vanished the moment he landed on the seat of the chair. He turned his head around to look for his father, the evident source of his acute pain, but only managed to get a glimpse of a purple turban marching swiftly away from the Great Hall.

He hadn't realized that his sudden collapse on the chair had caused his friends to come down upon him in worry and by the time he was made aware of their woes, they had acquired the attention of those close to the double doors of the Great Hall.

"I'm fine now," he said reassuringly to his friends, hoping to assuage their worries. "Did any of you see Father?"

"No." answered Draco, who was sitting on his right. "But Uncle Sev looked down right pissed at the headstone. He's on his way here now."

Erebus looked above the heads of his friends and just as Draco had said, his godfather was striding towards their direction, his cold expression masking the real displeasure that could be found in his coal-like eyes.

"Will he be okay?" asked Erebus the moment his godfather had settled himself on the chair before them.

"He's a grown man, he can deal with Dumbledore's latest attack of his defeat." replied the Dark man.

Erebus stared at his godfather before rephrasing his question. "Will the furniture survive?"

Those seated at their table snickered at the mental image of the Dark Lord attacking a colourful piece of furniture that had the misfortune of being upholstered in the exact same colour of robes the Headmaster was donning. "We may have to purchase a new couch or two," said Severus in agreement, pulling out a familiar vial from the inner pocket of his robe. "Here, depending on what happens later, your Father may not be calm enough to lock away all of his thoughts and emotions."

"What are you planning?" asked Erebus, pocketing the pain reliever, and watched his godfather's face intently.

"Nothing that you should worry about or discuss in here." said the Potions Master in a low but stern voice. "However whatever happens, whatever you may see, we want you all –" he looked directly at each of his Slytherin's eye "to stay out of the way. You are to return to the common room at once and stay there."

All four children were about to give their Knut's worth at their Head of House's order to stay away but a single death glare for the man silenced all of their protest.

"Fine." Erebus begrudgingly agreed.

"Fine, what Erebus?" asked the older Slytherin pointedly.

The young Dark Heir groaned internally at his godfather's shrewdness, the man was the bloody epitome of Slytherin cunning. However he was not placed in Slytherin just because of his natural charms. "Fine, we won't get in the way of whatever it is you and Father are planning to retrieve from the third floor." The surprised look on the professor's face was worth voicing out the assumptions they'd been able to formulate the past week and if the man's expression was to be taken into account, Erebus could say that they were right in their assumptions. He could just see the wheels turning in the man's head and quickly tried to wipe away the smirk that wanted to grace his face.

"How'd you know about the third floor?" demanded Severus in a displeased tone.

"We don't know what's in it." clarified Draco, keeping his excitement at bay. "But we surmised that since Dumbledore's all keen at keeping the students away from what was a harmless corridor a year ago according to Flint, to a now supposedly forbidden corridor, he must be keeping something dangerous or power in there, or both."

A resigned groan escaped from the Potions Master's lips as he surveyed his far too intelligent students. "Wait for me in the common room after curfew and I will tell you what is going on and perhaps then I may be able to dissuade you all from digging deeper and ultimately getting yourselves into trouble. But until then, you are to stay away, no matter what you see or hear. Understood?"

This time the four children readily agreed to the order now that they had something to look forward to later in the evening.

"Good. Now I suggest you all try to at least act indifferent, we do not want Dumbledore descending upon us wondering why four Slytherins are looking murderously at his main attraction."

"But it's awful." mumbled Erebus, glaring at said offensive piece of engraved rock.

"I know," said Severus consolingly. "But until the Dark Lord remains weakened in spectral form, the public must not be made aware of anything. Just be glad it's not a costume party." Their Head of House sneered at the thought then rose from his seat but not before making sure that his students would really follow through his orders.

The rest of the evening passed by in absolute agony, especially when the Old Fool decided, for the benefit of the mudbloods, to address the significance of the night's affair. The man droned on and on about how important it was for the school to drop all prejudice and come together to ensure that darkness would never prevail. He then went on to say that the Dark had absolutely no power over those who stood firm in their faith in the Light and that just like the Dark Lord Voldemort, as long as they remained united, the current Dark Lady would soon meet her demise. Erebus would have loved to ball up a handful of lemon drops around one of the old man's multicoloured robes and use it to give the Old Coot a sound bashing for all the derogatory words he was spitting out if it would not reveal his secrets. It had never been so far to keep up an impassive front.

Perhaps the only consolation the young Slytherin received that evening was the lack of shooting pains coming from the link he shared with his father, it seemed that the Dark Lord had the good mind to stay far away from the Great Hall until he had cooled off. And a good thing it was too that the Dark Lord was not present in the Great Hall for despite the occasional balls his mother threw for those who supported them, the Halloween Dance by Dumbledore was too morbid an affair for even them, the Dark, to fully enjoy. Yet as the evening dragged on, three fourths of the now well known Slytherin Quartet found themselves mingling with the more tolerable faction of the school while Erebus, the ever social butterfly, found refuge within the shadowy recess of the transfigured Great Hall, accessing silently all those that passed him.

However the event they were most looking out for did not occur until the Headmaster asked everyone to raise their glasses in honour of the occasion and the foreseeable end of the war. Erebus had no idea where the Old Man came up with the laughable idea of the war ending in favour of the Light but the snide remarks he was about to voice out to his Dark peers died on his lips as the doors of the Great Hall slammed open, crashing loudly on the walls, and an extremely stricken Filch came bustling in.

"T-t-t-troll in the dungeons." cried the obnoxious caretaker, stumbling upon the Headmaster's feet before collapsing stone cold on the floor.

Silence rang heavy in the large hall before the frightening fact that a troll had violated the castle wards sank in and mass pandemonium soon escalated. Students were all screaming and running towards the exit and had it not been for the shield erected by the Headmaster, the caretaker's body would have been trampled beyond recognition. The four Slytherin first years who were expecting something of this sort to happen played their part in the mass hysteria, though if one was to look closer, they would see excitement and anticipation shining brightly on their otherwise panicked expressions.

Several purple sparks erupted from the Headmaster's wand before a semblance of order took hold the students. "Prefects," he rumbled. "lead your Houses back to the dormitories immediately."

The sixth and seventh year Prefects immediately gathered their charges at the Headmaster's words and had them exiting the Great Hall in an orderly manner with a few terrified murmurs interspaced every now and then. As soon as all the students had departed the Great Hall, the professors followed the lead of the Headmaster and proceeded to confront the wayward troll. However if any of them had stayed longer to ensure that all the students had indeed left for the safety of their common rooms, they would have seen four Slytherin clad students trailing suspiciously behind their group.

"Are they mad?" cried Draco softly under his breath. "Or have they forgotten that we live in the dungeons?"

"I'm sure they must have had a good reason to place a troll near our common room." supplied Amanda diplomatically.

"Name me one!" demanded the blonde, turning swiftly to face the red haired witch.

"Shush!" Blaise exclaimed, causing the remaining three to halt in their steps and stare quizzically at their friend.

"What do you hear Blaise?" asked Erebus but the brown haired wizard paid him no mind and instead verged away from the path that would take them to their common room. Erebus and the others had to jog to keep up with the bemused wizard.

"Zabini, where are you taking us?" cried an irate Draco.

"Filch did say that a troll was in the dungeons, right?" said Blaise, not bothering to turn and face his panting companions.

"Unless you know of another creature that is also called a troll and causes chaos at even the slightest of mention, then yes, the Squib cried troll for the entire hall to hear." replied Draco snidely, he hated physical exertion.

Then suddenly a loud grunt and thundering footsteps could be heard coming from the next corridor and self-preservation finally kicked into Erebus' brain and he made a grab for his friend's arm and pulled him back.

"Blaise this is not the time to go chasing after your inherent affinity towards all forms of nasty creatures." growled Erebus.

"But Reby – " Blaise tried to explain but at that precise moment the troll had turned the corner and was now facing a group (bar one) of terrified looking first years. The troll was carrying a heavy wooden club and wore a predatory expression on its face that was just far to crazed in Erebus' opinion. The giant brute then lumbered slowly towards them, making grunting noises every now and then that sent shivers down their spine. Backing cautiously away from the giant lump of bones and muscles, Erebus, Draco and Amanda all cried out when they saw that instead of retreating from the troll, Blaise was actually trying to approach it.

"Blaise Dominic Zabini get out of there!" cried Amanda, staring wildly at the advancing troll. At the sound of her shrill voice, the troll grunted even louder and started thumping its foot angrily against the stone floor, causing a few plaster and rubble to come loose from the ceilings.

"Calm down guys," said Blaise, finally turning back towards his friends. "It's just Courtney."

That single phrase caused the three terrified Slytherins to be struck dumb, each of them staring at the Italian wizard as if he'd grown an extra head.

"That thing has a name?" exclaimed Amanda in all incredulity.

"Of course," intoned Blaise, sounding a bit insulted. "She is after all mine, though technically mother found her, but she has fondness for me."

Amanda then mumbled something harshly under her breath about running as far away if a troll ever became fond of her. Once the shock of finding out that the troll indeed possessed a name and was more or less harmless if what he could discern from Blaise's face was true, Erebus walked up towards the troll and immediately saw the familiar bronze collar around its neck that indicated the troll was indeed that of the Zabinis' and after much perusal of his memory, a creature he'd known since he was a kid.

"That's Courtney?" asked Erebus, staring up at the troll. "The troll cub that Aunt Pricilla brought back from the Tuscan Mountains when we were five?"

"Hold on, that's the troll cub that thought Anna was its play doll and refused to set her down for a week?" Draco stepped beside his cousin and could barely contain his mirth and the two other boys were no better.

"You can't fake the Zabini collar and it would be suicidal for anyone other than those with Cavello blood running in their veins to even try and put a collar on a troll, and to answer your question, that is Courtney. I can't believe I didn't realize it sooner." said Blaise once he'd gotten himself under control.

The troll, or Courtney to the three male Slytherins, emitted a high pitched growl and started moving its arms wildly around, its club coming dangerously close to smashing the adjacent wall. If they didn't know any better the troll looked as if it was ready to devour them but a quick look at Blaise's mesmerized eyes told them that Courtney was no sooner going to eat them than his mother being intentionally friendly with a Muggle. It was well known within the tight folds of the Dark's Inner Circle that the Cavello Family had a much closer affinity to all sorts of creatures, able to communicate with them in an intellectual level, an ability no other Pureblood families could do and it was an inherent trait that has successfully been passed on through the generations.

"She says she's happy to see us again and is wondering why we coloured her doll's hair red." Blaise's translation of the troll's incomprehensible sent both Erebus and Draco into fits of laughter while Amanda merely stared in confusion at the sight before her.

"You don't mind if I stay right here, do you?" said Amanda weakly, sliding down the stone floor. "My brain has yet to register the fact that the three of you are actually chummy with a mountain troll."

But no sooner had the words left her mouth the sound of hurried footsteps and frantic voices were quickly making its way to where they all were, undoubtedly brought on by the ruckus Courtney was making.

"The professors are coming!" said Erebus, turning his focus to where the voices were coming. "We have to get out of here. Courtney's probably just a distraction to get whatever it is that is in the third floor and Zabini family pet or not, I don't think Severus would be pleased to find us together with her."

"You're right, let's get out of here. Great seeing you again Courtney!" The troll grunted, and this time Erebus was able to distinguish a friendly tone in its voice, as friendly as a grunt could be, while Blaise and Draco went to help gather Amanda back on her feet and the four of them made a mad dash towards the opposite direction, narrowly missing the professors who arrived at the scene just as they'd made the corner.

The four Slytherins arrived at the Slytherin Common in good time only to be met with an extremely furious Flint who then proceeded to rant on and on about how stupid they were to wander on their own when there was a troll traipsing around unchecked in the dungeons. The blunt fifth year Prefect would have reported them to Professor Snape had Erebus not subtlety reminded the boy just who exactly he was dealing with and sure enough once the Slytherin Captain realized that he stopped his lecturing and backed off at once, though he did warn them not to ran off again.

As soon as Flint went to find the Head Boy, who this year was a Slytherin, to report that everyone was now all accounted for, Erebus lead his friends towards the empty couches closet to the fireplace. Everyone knew not to occupy the couches near the fireplace as they now belonged to the unofficial leader of Slytherin and his friends and when one arrogant seventh year argued that a mere first year couldn't possibly have that much power over the entire House tried to get Erebus away from the comfortable couch all it took was one raised brow and the seventh year ran off whimpering. It was therefore safe to say that no one else had tried to "unseat" the young heir after that.

"Are you okay Amanda?" asked Erebus when after a couple of minutes the girl still seemed rather out of it.

"Just give me a few more minutes to process the things I've learnt in the last hour, okay?" said Amanda absentmindedly.

"You seem to be taking this rather well." Erebus smirked, watching the expressions play on the dazed girl's face.

"Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that I'm friends with the son and godson of the Dark Lord Voldemort, personally met the Dark Lady in my Head of House's office and lived through all of said son of the Dark Lord's capricious temper tantrums." snapped Amanda wittily.

"Touché," laughed Draco.

Amanda then turned towards the offending boy and said, "So you keep a troll in your backyard."

Blaise looked sheepishly at the girl. "Technically after she got too big for the makeshift cave we built her mother had to send her off to one of the mountain ranges near our winter villas. I haven't actually seen her since I was eight and having a troll running around in one of our properties is not something I discuss over dinner much less in the Great Hall full of gossiping students.

"Is there anything else I ought to know before I become too entrenched in all of these?" asked Amanda, heaving a great sigh in the process.

"Draco likes to be called Drakie-poo at night." blurted Erebus, dashing off to hide behind a shocked fourth year when Draco tried to lunge at him. Blaise chucked at the two's childish antics and then turned to face Amanda's query, who had not even bat an eye lid when Draco jumped on Erebus. The Italian smirked inwardly, despite what the girl had said she was already deeply entrenched with them if Draco and Erebus' constant roughhousing was no longer ruffling her.

"Amanda, as much as we'd love to enlighten you on the things concerning us and your family, Hogwarts is just not the safest place to divulge any sort of information about the Dark. Because of who your parents were, you are important to the Dark and if My Lady says it's too dangerous, it would be foolish of us to try and bring more unnecessary attention towards you by telling you things that ought not to be said when the Headmaster probably has ears everywhere in the castle." said Blaise, hoping to pacify the girl's need for information.

"Yeah yeah, I get it. No heavy information until Christmas break." said Amanda petulantly.

"Hey, cheer up Mandy, Christmas break will be upon us before you know it." Blaise smiled comfortingly at the girl.

"Just answer me one question Blaise," said Amanda.

Blaise eyed the girl warily, friend or not, the girl was placed in Slytherin for a reason. "What is it?"

"Whatever it is that you don't want to tell me here at Hogwarts, do you know anything about it?"

Blaise looked relieved at the question but did not show it. "I'm sorry Mandy, but I know marginally less than Erebus and Draco. I may have grown up with the lot of Dark children but I unfortunately did not have the opportunity to actually live within the Malfoy and Riddle manors."

"How is it like growing up under the rule of the Dark Lady?" asked Amanda, suddenly curious at what the boy had revealed and what she had missed.

"Not as bad as what you think," answered Erebus who had heard the question and was now sitting across from the girl, far away from a still fuming Draco. "A Light wizard will of course never condone the methods in which we were raised and made aware of the realities in life. However despite all of that, I wouldn't have my life any other way, Light wizards are too ignorant and naïve and perceive very little things about their surroundings, I doubt how they've managed to hold on as long as they've had with the path they are leading to now."

"And if you take a look at all the Pureblood Slytherins, they've all known each other from birth. That's just how it works; it helps build solidarity within the inner ranks and ensures loyalty. First rule of Slytherin House is that no is to leave a man behind. We may be Dark but we are not stupid as to think that we can survive without the help of others, we just don't show to the public just how close-knit the House really is, after all, we do have an image to uphold." supplied Blaise. "So are you still mad at us?"

"I was never mad," said Amanda, looking resigned. "It's just that now that I know I'm a part of something, something really important, I want to be able to understand all that I've missed because of unfortunate circumstances. But every time I think I know enough, something like this springs up and it makes me feel all the more clueless to the life my parents lived."

"If it makes you feel any better, I could ask mother to send me that genealogy book I told you about in the train and you can read up on the prominent Dark and Light families while waiting for the holidays." offered Erebus, understanding exactly how his friend was feeling.

Amanda smiled a brilliant smile, making her blue eyes twinkle in the firelight. "Thanks a lot Reby!"

It took an hour for the last of the seventh years to finally head up to their dormitories for the night and another hour for the archway in the common room to open up. Erebus and Draco, who by now had forgiven the dark haired youth, were in the process of setting up their third chess game for the night when the very person they were staying up late for walked towards their vey own corner in the Slytherin common room. Blaise was the first to notice the looming professor and ceased running his hand over Velvet's dark fur. The cat had leapt into his arms midway into their waiting. "Good evening Professor."

"As it is nearly one in the morning, I doubt you could still call it good evening Mr. Zabini, but I however understood your sentiments." replied Severus, having startled Amanda awake.

"So are you going to tell us what happened, Uncle Sev?" asked Draco, looking expectantly at his professor.

"Yes," grumbled Severus, making himself comfortable next to a sleepy-eyed Amanda.

"Well out with it." prompted Erebus, garnering a Snape death glare from his godfather despite the obvious wariness on his face.

"What do you know of the Philosopher's Stone?" asked the Potions Master.

The four children all had their brows furrowed trying to recall if they had ever stumbled upon the term before during one of their readings. It was Erebus, with his fascination with magical artefacts, that recalled the term first. "It's said to be able to turn any metal into pure gold."

"A point to Slytherin," said Severus. "However that is not all that it is capable of doing, for an Elixir of Life made from the stone gives anyone that drinks it immortality."

Erebus' eyes widened at the revelation. "I'll bet you that's what's hidden in the third floor."

"Right again Erebus and your father is determined to get his hands on it one way or another."

"Will it give him his body back? Reverse the effects of the curse?" asked Erebus, his every words dripping with hope.

"Do not get your hopes up Erebus," chastised Severus lightly, well aware of the boy's hopes to have his father back and didn't want him to have them raised too high only to have them dashed. "Dumbledore has the stone well protected and openly going after it is out of the question."

"But that's why you let Courtney into the castle tonight, right? So that you can go after the stone without bringing in suspicion." deduced Draco.

"Letting the troll in has already brought in suspicion." intoned Severus. "And pray tell me how you found out about Courtney when I specifically told you to head straight for the dungeons at the first sign of danger!"

"Courtney is an oversized dog, she would never hurt us!" argued Blaise.

"Be that as it may," snapped their Head of House angrily. "But how would you explain to the staff if they found you before you could get away that you, four Slytherin first years, were able to walk by a troll without getting nothing more than an elevated heart rate without exposing to all of Blaise's affinity with dark creatures?"

At the professor's stern words, the group of first years had the decency to look ashamed and they realized just how stupid they were and how close they came to getting caught and sent to the Headmaster for questioning. The dark and quiet Slytherin common room echoed with the four's mumbled apologies.

"So were you able to get the stone?" Erebus tried to broach the subject again after he was certain that his godfather's ire had diminished.

"Unfortunately Hagrid's Cerberus stopped us before we could analyze more of the spells guarding the stone." drawled Severus, scowling at the memory of the blasted three headed dog that had come close to biting his leg off.

"There's a Cerberus in the castle?" exclaimed Blaise in surprise. "Wicked!"

"Mr. Zabini if you want the next seven years of your life here in Slytherin to be marginally comfortable, I suggest you desist any thoughts of venturing to the third floor to try and acquaint yourself with the blasted dog!" Severus warned in a voice that had sent one too many Hufflepuffs bursting into tears.

"Yes sir." nodded Blaise readily, not wanting to know just how his Head of House could make his life miserable.

"Now if you have no more questions, I suggest you all go to bed, it is way past the hour for eleven year olds such as yourselves to be up and about." ordered Severus, nudging the girl who had lost her battle to sleep halfway through the boys' interrogation.

"Is it already time for class?" mumbled a half awake Amanda, who, if awake and alert, wouldn't have buried her head deeper into her stoic professor's robes.

"No Ms. Michaels, but it is high time that you get yourself into bed." Severus responded to the girl's question, and if someone other than three before him would see him now, they would scream that someone had possessed their Potions Master for he was now gently lifting the sleeping form off the couch and slowly carried her back to her dorm. Once Severus returned to the common room, he found all three boys smirking knowingly at him.

Severus merely cocked a brow at his students and folded his arms before his chest. "Which part of get to bed did the three of you not understand?"

"But Uncle Sev, I don't think I can walk all the way back to the dorm, 'm too tired." drawled Draco, promptly collapsing on a nearby chair and raising his hands in an invitation to be carried and tucked to bed.

The older Slytherin was not amused by the Malfoy heir's antics and was quick to show it with a swift slap of the boy's outstretched hands. ".." he intoned each word with infused sharpness, all the while landing mild swats on the boys' backsides.

"Hey!" cried the boys in indignation but Severus was tired and wouldn't hear anymore of it and therefore pointed sharply towards the boys' dormitories.

The boys scuffled around their irate professor, mumbling their good nights along the way but before a certain dark haired boy could make it inside; he was called out by a weary voice.

"Yes Uncle?" said Erebus, turning around to face the man.

"Erebus, I just recalled that your father wanted me to pass on a message to you." Severus walked towards his godson, noting how the boy's face suddenly became guarded at the mention of his father.

"What is it Uncle Sev?" the boy asked smoothly.

"He told me to tell you not to go after the stone." said Severus and it was during these times that he hated the fact that it was essential to teach the boy Occlumency. Erebus' face was a mask of perfect blankness, not one emotion flittered through the mask that would tell Severus what his godson was thinking of and he would rather drink the foulest potion in existence than to try using Legilimency without the boy's permission.

"Did you hear what I just said, Erebus?" asked Severus sternly, it was important to make the boy understand the dangers surrounding the stone and it would be extremely frowned upon by his family if he tried to go after it.

"Yes Uncle Sev." the boy replied calmly, a complete opposite of the conflicting emotions he was feeling inside.

"Then do I have your word that you will not go after the stone?" demanded Severus, not pleased with the boy's lack of emotion.

"I will not go after the stone, Uncle." _unless I deem it absolutely necessary_ was left unsaid.

Severus eyed the boy suspiciously; he knew there was more to it that the boy was not telling. There was almost always something more when it came to the Dark Heir. Erebus was all but simple.

"I am taking your word for this Erebus, do try not to disappoint us." said Severus, placing a hand on Erebus' shoulder and giving it a firm squeeze that spoke of trouble if he dared to disobey.

Erebus nodded in the affirmative, not risking using his voice lest it betrayed him of the thoughts that were running rampant in his mind. Severus gave one last parting squeeze of the shoulder before heading out of the archway, leaving Erebus to stand alone in the darkening common room. He would watch more carefully his father and godfather's attempts to get the stone and if someone would even try to hinder in his father's plans, they would have him to deal with it. Such a precious magical artefact being kept in a magical school was very suspicious to Erebus and he was sure that the Headmaster had something to do it and he would use all ounce of Slytherin cunning he possessed to figure it out.

He would not openly go after the stone but he was definitely not going to wait in the sidelines either. No, Erebus would not wait and watch in the sidelines. Never.

* * *

**A/N: **YOu know what to do guys. I don't know when the next chapter will come but keep your fingers cross, I've got a slew of ideas I want to write so wait for them.

'til next post

_**dan4eva**_


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: **Okay, I know this is an old chapter and I am reposting it again after I got reviews stating that our Dark Quartet have already found out about the stone in the previous chapter. And so I had to edit the parts in this chapter that made it seem that they only found out about the stone now and not when Severus told them about it on Halloween.

This posting also means that I now have a lot of free in my hands since the semester officially ends this friday. I only have three exams left to contend with and then after that I will be devoting most of my term break to catching up on my stories. _**(That's good news folks!)**_ Oh and I've removed the Chapter 14 Author's Notes in preparation for the next chapter!

**_Disclaimer: _**_I don't know how many times I've said this, so if until don't know you still don't know the deal, then that's your problem and not mine! But I'm feeling generous today and will enlighten you to the fact that this does not belong to me! Now get that into your thick heads!_

* * *

**Chapter 13**

November soon arrived and with it came the harsh cold weather that they merely got a taste of in the last few months. The castle corridors were quickly becoming drafty, though not as much as the dungeons. During the off winter season, the dungeons were already chilly and drafty to deal with, but with winter right on their doorstep, it was impossible to walk down the dungeon corridors, much less live in its dormitories without extra thick cloaks and bed sheets that have been charmed to keep their users warm and comfortable. It was therefore a blessed relief when their double Potions class finally arrived on Friday morning. The flickering flames below their cauldrons and the warm fumes emitted by their Potions, which would have been uncomfortable on an ordinary day, provided them with the much needed heat to thaw their otherwise freezing appendages. Even the Gryffindors, who abhor the thought of being locked up in a dungeon with the castle's resident snakes, could be seen bent closer to their cauldrons, all trying to absorb as much heat as possible before heading outside once more in the castle's freezing corridors.

For the day's practical lesson Severus had the Gryffindors paired up with the Slytherins, to much rancour, and had them brewing a simple Decongesting Draft for the Infirmary. He produced one green and one red velvet pouch that contained all of their names and started pairing up the names he picked out from the pouches.

"Weasley and Michaels…! Brown and Parkinson…! Finnigan and Bulstrode…! Granger and Malfoy…! Longbottom and Riddle…!" The calling of pairs went on in the same manner and each time the Gryffindors grumbled in disapproval until Severus, extremely annoyed with all the whining that was going on, took away ten points from Dean Thomas when he swore loudly at being paired up with Goyle.

While the Gryffindors bemoaned the cruelness and unfairness of the situation, the Slytherins were all silently wearing looks of disgust, eyeing critically the partners they all thought were too incompetent to be paired up with them. But amidst the sea of sneers and derision, one pair of red speckled green eyes stared down at his partner in complete fascination.

Like the rest of his House, Erebus waited stoically by his desk for Longbottom to lumber towards him, watching him intently from the periphery of his eyes. This would be his first opportunity to really scrutinize why of the many offspring of his followers, Dumbledork had chosen him as his protégé. He knew for a fact that Longbottom's parents were both in St. Mungo's permanent residence list courtesy of his Aunt Bella and Uncle Rudy's treatment. When he first arrived at Hogwarts, he was actually quite eager to meet the son of the two most skilful Aurors, the only ones to ever manage to cause so much trouble for his parents' Death Eaters. He was expecting to find a confident boy of eleven – since it was no secret that he was hand picked by the leader of the Light to succeed him – capable of challenging him throughout his years at Hogwarts. However he was utterly disappointed to find a chubby, stuttering boy who was more of a squib than the son of two powerful wizards.

Right now Longbottom looked like he'd been paired up with the Grim Reaper and was so tense that his hands visibly shook as he inched slowly towards him. Erebus was just about to thrown in a comment on how his parents were doing for kicks when the sound of a pewter cauldron scratching the immaculate surface of his wooden desk irritatingly reached his ears.

"Lift the cauldron, Longbottom!" barked Erebus, grabbing the shaking hands and startling the chubby Gryffindor so horribly that he dropped the solid cauldron. Metal collided loudly with stone and the entire class held its breath as in unison they all stared at the Potions Master, (the Slytherins in anticipation and the Gryffindors in dread) waiting for the inevitable eruption to arrive.

They were not disappointed.

"Longbottom!" the Professor's harsh voice came from somewhere at the back of the classroom where he was making his rounds. He was instantly standing before them, stared at the cracked cauldron on the floor before leaning furiously at Longbottom. "Even without brewing you manage to ruin a perfectly good cauldron. Do you have a vendetta against cauldrons Mr. Longbottom that you must see to it that every cauldron you come into contact with is destroyed? Or do you somehow have a twisted enjoyment at seeing yourself fail time and time again?"

By now Longbottom was a shivering mass slumped on the chair, miserably trying to make himself invisible and not meet the Potions Master's burning black eyes.

"Well answer me Mr. Longbottom!" snapped Severus cuttingly, boring his eyes into the terrified Gryffindor.

"N-n-n-n-no sir…" stuttered Longbottom, unable to peel his eyes away from the dark pool of his professor's eyes.

"Then tell me why in your very short tenure here at Hogwarts that you have managed to wreck not one, nor two but FIVE cauldrons? One of which you have yet to attempt to brew with!"

"I-I-I-I don't k-know sir…" Longbottom whimpered pathetically and looked as if he was close to soiling himself.

Severus sneered at the boy in contempt before extricating himself from his position on the front of the desk and stood in all his dark glory; his 6'4 frame intimidating even his Slytherins.

"Perhaps you think that you can get away with anything in this castle just because the Headmaster has chosen to be his prized student, the Golden Boy of Gryffindor? Well let me tell you now Mr. Longbottom that even if you were Merlin's apprentice himself, you would still be treated like any other student that pass through these halls!"

Severus was not oblivious to the glares he was receiving from all of the Gryffindors on how he was grilling one of their Housemates, but since none of them would dare to even speak a word against him when he was currently biting the head off of one of his students, he ploughed on. He also noticed the barely hidden smirks on his Slytherins.

"And fifty points from Gryffindor for inherent stupidity and ineptness, and detention with me tonight and tomorrow. Meet me here promptly at eight o'clock Longbottom or else you'll wish I'd made you scrub fifty filthy cauldrons. Do I make myself clear?" Severus ended his tirade by gathering the folds of his black cloak, arms crossed menacingly before his chest, and eyes directed right at the pale faced Gryffindor.

"Y-y-yes sir." the Gryffindor acquiesced timidly, utterly petrified of what he would be asked to do if he was a second late. Another stern bark later from the Potions Master and the students returned to labouring over their slowly bubbling cauldrons. With the show over, Erebus pulled out his bag of personal potion ingredients and set out to prepare the ingredients required.

"Longbottom," intoned Erebus, addressing the shivering Gryffindor. "I have never let anyone incompetent touch my potions and since I have a reputation to uphold, you will simply sit there and touch nothing else unless I tell you to do so otherwise. Understood?"

The timid Gryffindor stared wide eyed at Erebus, unsure of how to react to being address so coldly by a boy his age. But then he saw the piercing bicoloured eyes staring down at him and as if an invisible hand had grabbed the nape of his neck causing him to nod his head. The smirk that played on Erebus' face afterwards was enough to send anyone in a panic attack, and the Longbottom Heir was no different.

Erebus proceeded to hum an eerie tune as he stirred the simmering contents of his cauldron, conscious to the fact that his actions were causing the poor Gryffindor to go into a premature nervous breakdown. This was proving to be an enjoyable period for the Dark Heir. However as gratifying as it was to torment the Gryffindor, Longbottom's incompetence at Potion soon grated on his nerves and he turned sharply at the boy.

"It says to '_dice the flobberworm skin_', Longbottom; not chop it! I will not have a bloody Griffindork such as yourself ruining my Potion!" growled Erebus, snatching Longbottom's hand that held the silver knife. Longbottom's body shook even more at the sudden touch and Erebus took this opportunity to pull the helpless Gryffindor towards him. "Now Longbottom, as amusing as it is that the mere sight of me sends you sweating and shivering like the bag of nerves that you are, you are such a big disappointment. I would have expected more from the son Frank and Alice Longbottom."

Erebus smugly watched as Longbottom stiffened at the mention of his tortured parents. "I believe the Janus Thickey Ward has never been more famous than when your parents were placed in it." At that Erebus released his hold of Longbottom's hand and returned to his cauldron, ignoring the shocked state he'd left Longbottom in.

The rest of the period passed by with little interruptions and best of all, none of the students were ever made aware that an altercation, albeit one-sided, had happened under their noses, and the only time that Erebus turned to look back at Longbottom was when he was preparing to bottle up his potion for the day, and he was not at all surprised at what he found. The Longbottom heir sat rigidly as if he had been glued to his seat, and had his fist clenched tightly as he stared blankly on his desk.

Erebus briefly pondered on the Gryffindor's stoic appearance before walking up to the professor's desk to hand in his potion. However just as he was about to head back to his work table, firm hands snatched his and promptly heard his godfather whisper sternly to his ear.

"Stay after!"

Erebus swerved around but before he could respond to the man's words, Severus had descended upon a Gryffindor who was just about to add an ingredient that would undoubtedly cause an explosion. A few minutes later the afternoon bell rang signalling the end of the morning period and the Gryffindors all scurried out of the dungeons, eager to get away from their irate Potions Master.

"Aren't you coming up for lunch?" asked Amanda when she saw that Erebus had remained seated behind his desk.

"You three go ahead, Uncle Sev wants to have a word." said Erebus, gesturing towards his friends.

"What did you do?" Blaise asked immediately. Erebus had a hunch on why his godfather wanted to speak to him and he said so to his friends.

"Alright," said Draco, giving him an amused look, "I guess we'll be seeing you later. Good luck!" The blond flashed him a "_you're going to need it_" look and Erebus rolled his eyes.

Just as the dungeon doors closed behind the three Slytherins, Severus emerged from his office, an impatient look upon his face. Erebus watched his godfather carefully as the man seated himself behind his desk, his dark eyes surveying him.

"Uncle, if this is about Longbottom," Erebus began casually, his innocent look firmly planted on face. "I don't know why you're so upset; it's not as if I harmed him."

"Whether you harmed him or not is not the reason I called for you to remain, Erebus. I was however under the impression that you've learnt that drawing attention to ourselves is not why we are here." said Severus curtly.

The look on Erebus' face dropped slightly before gathering himself and answering in a detached, nonchalant manner. "I was not drawing attention to myself."

Severus stared at his godson, trying hard not to lose his temper yet again on the boy. "Then what was it that I heard you talking about Longbottom's parents, was that not what you would call _drawing attention_?"

"Uncle, every single one in Wizarding Britain knows what became of the Longbottoms. None will find it odd that I know of that particular fact." said Erebus, his demeanour behind his desk was of utter confidence.

Severus pinched the bridge of his nose in fatigue. He was not unnerved to find the boy at complete confidence with his actions, it was a show frequently seen whenever the child had done something only he had knowledge of. It was very much a Slytherin trait as it was a Malfoy trait, but Severus wanted the boy to learn to at least be cautious and not be too bold under the watchful eyes of the Headmaster.

"Be that as it may, but I do not recall the location of the Longbottom's very ward ever becoming public knowledge." said Severus, leaning forwards his desk.

Erebus blinked and then stared at his beloved godfather before breaking out into a full blown smirk, causing said man to raise a dark brow. "You wound me, Uncle, for this is the first time you've ever thought so little of me."

"Explain!" Severus intoned, straightening out his tall form.

Erebus rose from his position behind the first desk and walked purposely towards were his godfather was watching him critically. "I've had the opportunity to watch Longbottom these past few months and I am telling you now Uncle, that a simple worm has got more backbone than that boy will ever have. Rest assured that not a word of our conversation will ever go beyond the three of us and I have somehow done something to make him fear me, making it all the more improbable that he'll rat me out." He saw at once that his godfather was about to say something and he immediately ploughed on. "Now before you say something else, I have not spoken or done anything towards him before today."

Severus ran a weary hand through his face and leaned back on his chair, "Still Erebus, what you did was unnecessary."

The dark haired youth watch the weariness that wrapped itself around his godfather's form and said, "You are thinking far too deep into this, Uncle. I can tell that whatever you and Father are up to is taxing you greatly so you need not worry yourself about trivial House rivalries. Draco and I have got it covered."

"Can you at the very least swear to me that this will not go beyond, as you call it, trivial House rivalries?" asked Severus.

"You know me well enough Uncle, that I cannot promise you that." said Erebus, "I however can promise you that I will strive to make it appear as if it were mere trivial House rivalries. Of that I can at least assure you of."

"Child, I am not asking you to stop pestering Gryffindors, it will be highly hypocritical of me if I did, but all I am asking of you if to exercise a bit of caution especially around Dumbledore's handpicked student. There is a reason why Longbottom was chosen from the rest of the Light children and playing these mind games with him will only incur Dumbledore's attention. You, of all people, do not need his eyes fixed on your every move. This is the last time I am warning you Erebus, I know you know how to be discreet and therefore I am begging you for your own good to watch what you say in front off Longbottom. I do not care what you have in store for those hot-headed dunderheads, _just be careful!_" Severus said gravely, emphasising the last of his words. "You are a cunning child of Slytherin, I am sure you can pull that off. Am I making myself clear, Erebus?"

"Crystal, sir." Erebus nodded his head and then reached out a hand towards his godfather. "Now why don't you take a break today? I'm sure a day without blundering dunderheads will do you good."

Severus looked down at the petite hands on top of his own calloused ones before looking up to see his godson. "I shall consider your advice, but for now you best be on your way to the Great Hall and remember what I have told you Erebus. It is pertinent that you do not forget it."

"Yes, sir." Erebus cocked his head at his godfather one last time before heading out of the dungeons for a much needed lunch break.

_**sSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSs**_

The next day, the morning of the first Quidditch game of the season had the castle abuzz with pent up excitement. The game was a match up between Slytherin and Gryffindor, and days prior to the game, students from both Houses took it upon themselves to take out as much of the opposing players as possible. Even Erebus, who had little spirit for the game took part in the age old inter-House rivalries, sending out his pet constrictor, Shiva, loose in the Gryffindor changing rooms.

"I still can't believe you refuse to even tryout for the team, Reby." Draco commented in frustration as the Slytherin Quartet entered the Great Hall on the morning of the match. "If I had your talent in the broom, I would not bother attending Hogwarts with its traitorous scum and go on ahead to play professional."

"I doubt no one in the family will ever allow you to get away with that," said Erebus calmly, used to this round of questioning from his cousin. "I can just imagine Uncle Luc's face at the thought of his only son and heir playing Quidditch rather than stepping up as the future Head of the Malfoy Family."

"It's best to keep all possible avenues open. I'm sure Father can at least understand that. _You_ can understand that." replied Draco nonchalantly, staring pointedly at the dark haired youth.

"True," acquiesced Erebus taking his seat in the Slytherin table, across from Draco and in between Blaise and Amanda. "But can't you just accept the fact that I simply do not find Quidditch as fascinating as you find it?"

"If as you say you don't find Quidditch fascinating, why did you set Shiva loose on the Gryffindor team the other day?" questioned Draco.

"I simply got fed up with Flint nagging about how little my House spirit was and decided to shut him up by allowing _him_ and not I, to use Shiva against the Gryffindor team." explained Erebus.

"But you're the only boy in the entire wizarding world that finds no interest in Quidditch!" exclaimed Draco in frustration, getting the attention of those sitting close to them.

"I find that hard to believe," said Erebus delicately, staring down the blonde Slytherin.

Draco huffed in defeat and crossed his arms before his chest, "I say you're wasting your talent."

"I prefer to believe that I am reserving my talents for something better. As you said, we have to keep all possible avenues open." Erebus stated simply, ignoring the incredulous look on his cousin's face. And throughout the little banter that went between the two boys, the rest of Slytherin House went about their own business, knowing by now that those who dare get in between their _brotherly_ bantering would only suffer.

Soon the time for the match arrived and the whole of Hogwarts made its way to the Quidditch pitch.

"Where are you going? The Quidditch pitch is this way." said Draco when he noticed that Amanda was heading back towards the dungeons.

"It's bound to be freezing cold out there and I forgot to get my cloak. I'll just head back to my room and get it, I'll meet you guys up in the stands." said Amanda, shivering slightly as the double doors of the castle opened and a gust of cold air burst into the Entrance Hall.

"I could lend you mine," offered Erebus and proceeded to remove his extra thick cloak. "I've been stranded in much colder places than this, I won't be bothered much."

"Thanks, but I think Professor Snape would be bothered very much if you went out in only your uniform." said Amanda, pushing the offered cloak away.

"We'll save you a seat up in the stands then," said Blaise. Amanda nodded and waited until the rush of students thinned before trudging her way back down into the dungeons.

A few minutes later, a fully cloaked Amanda was on her way to the Quidditch pitch when she heard an agitated exchange going on inside an unused classroom. With the entire student body out watching the match, Amanda was curious as to who had remained inside the castle. Peering around to make sure no one else would be coming around the corner to catch her, Amanda walked gingerly towards the unused classroom and perked up at what she was heard.

"Are you sure this is what's under the trapdoor?" asked a voice that sounded a lot like Weasley for the Slytherin girl.

"Positive!" exclaimed a high pitched voice that could be none other than Granger's.

"But, but what are they thinking keeping a thing like that in a school?" asked a new voice in confusion that Amanda pinned to Longbottom's.

"Well it's obvious they're hiding it from someone." said Granger's shrill voice. "Why else would they let a three-headed dog inside a castle full of students and under a trapdoor."

Amanda then heard something heavy landing on a wooden surface and Granger's annoying voice sounded once more. "I borrowed this from the library the other day for light reading and it says right here that Nicholas Flamel is the only known maker of the Philosopher's Stone. It turns any metal into pure gold and gives its drinker immortality."

"Immortality?" asked Weasley unintelligently.

"It means you'll never die." snapped Granger irritably.

"I know what it means!" Weasley cried out in equal irritation.

"But who would want gold and be immortal?" asked Longbottom out loud, silencing the argument that had sprung up in the background between Granger and Weasley.

"I don't know," said Granger, hating not knowing something.

'_This is not good'_ thought Amanda. She had heard all that she needed and dashed outside to relay it to her friends.

_**sSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSs**_

The match between Slytherin and Gryffindor was on full swing, with the Griffin house trailing 50-10. It was obvious to all that this year's Gryffindor team was not living up to its previous years and the addition of a Seeker that was far from Charlie Weasley's capabilities was disheartening the whole House. The Slytherin team took their opposing team's disheartened state to make a number of goals in only a few minutes and all sounds were drowned by the loud cheering of the green and silver clad students.

Yet despite all the rambunctious cheering going on around him, Erebus only found himself mildly interested, and that was only brought on by the Gryffindor's pathetic display. He was beginning to regret ever allowing Draco to persuade him into coming up to watch the game as he could be doing much more productive things now that the entire school was out of the castle when Amanda suddenly burst through the crowd.

"What took you so long? Did you get lost on the way to the pitch?" asked Erebus and then he got a good look at her, noticing for the first time her out of breath look. "Did you run all the way up here?"

Amanda stood bent double before the Dark Heir, a worried expression on her face. "I've found something that I think you'll want to hear."

Erebus stared levelly at his friend and asked, gesturing at the crazed crowd, "Will it get me out of this torture?"

Amanda stared around in confusion before understanding what Erebus was trying to say. "Yes," she replied tentatively. "It's highly confidential."

"Great!" exclaimed Erebus, bolting out of his seat and clapping his hands before reaching out to the two other boys in front of him. "Draco, Blaise, let's go!"

"What?" the two boys cried out in unison, their attention snapping away from the match.

"But the game's barely began! I want to see Gryffindor defeated!" grumbled Draco.

"Amanda has something important to tell us," Erebus stated. "And the pitch has too many prying ears." Draco was about to protest further when a reddish green stare rendered him temporarily mute.

"This has better be good, Amanda!" snapped Draco, reluctantly turning away from the game just as Slytherin scored another point and made his way towards the stairs. Erebus ushered for Amanda and Blaise to go before him and soon all three of them were descending the stands behind a fuming Draco.

The quartet quickly made their way back to the Slytherin common room, and as soon as they were through the sanctuary of the stone arch, Draco flopped grumpily and unceremoniously on a sofa by the fire with his legs resting atop the armrest. Erebus and Blaise on the other hand took a more dignified route and sat themselves comfortably on the sofa next to Draco's.

"Alright Amanda, spill out whatever it is that is making me miss a Gryffindor defeat." said Draco.

"Quit whining Dray, you make it out as if you're missing out on an extremely important event." said Erebus, having just about enough of his cousin's Quidditch fanaticism for the day.

"So says the guy who finds no interest on the wizarding world's most famous sport!" mumbled Draco under his breath from his position on the couch and thus oblivious to the annoyed look on his cousin's face.

"Just ignore Draco, Amanda, he's just sore, he'll get over it in a bit." said Blaise at the anxious look on the girl's face. "So what's this important thing you're so eager to tell us?"

"The Gryffindors know what's hidden in the third floor." cried Amanda, looking directly at the Dark Heir.

The words that went out of Amanda's mouth were like a trigger that sent all three boys jumping out of their seats, looks of utter disbelief etched on their faces.

"How?" blurted Draco, all traces of annoyance at being pulled from the game gone from his aristocratic face.

"I was passing through the corridors when I heard hushed voices coming from an unused classroom. I went over to investigate and heard Longbottom, Granger and Weasley. I didn't hear the beginning of their discussion but I do know that they've seen the Cerberus the professor was talking about and Granger somehow figured out from a book that a Philosopher's Stone is being hidden here in the castle, directly beneath the beast." said Amanda, looking expectantly at her friends.

Throughout Amanda's quick retelling of events, Erebus stood stoically, carefully digesting the information he was receiving. He couldn't believe that a group of Gryffindors such as Granger, Weasley and Longbottom were able to find out what was hidden in the castle. Even with Granger's brains it was still highly unlikely that a bunch of first years found out on their, even they knew nothing about the stone until Severus told them about it.

"They must have had help," voiced Erebus, deep in thought.

"The question is who told them." stated Draco. "This is not a topic of casual conversations. Someone other than the Dark Lord has plans for that stone and is using the Gryffindors to get it."

Amanda and Blaise looked between the two boys before Italian wizard gave his opinion on the matter, "But why these three Gryffindors out of everyone else in the castle?"

It was Erebus who answered. "Longbottom."

"Longbottom?" asked Amanda in surprise.

"Yes," said Erebus. "He's Dumbledore's protégé and whoever's planning to get the stone must expect that the Headmaster's taught the boy advance spells and is planning to use that to his or her advantage."

Draco snorted at that. "I doubt Longbottom knows anything beyond the Levitating Charm. Whoever this person that's dropped hints around those three must not have seen Longbottom in classes if –."

"We're getting ahead of ourselves here." interrupted Blaise, earning a baleful look from the blonde boy. "We don't know for certain that someone else other than the Dark Lord has any interest for the Stone. For all we know the three of them could have just overheard the professors talking about it, Severus did say that the stone is well guarded and I won't put it past the Headmaster to recruit all of the professors to help guard the stone."

"You're over estimating the Gryffindorks a tad too much here Blaise." said Draco, his arms crossed. "And which among the professors are stupid enough to discuss the Stone where they can be overheard by students."

"I'm just saying Ray," uttered Blaise.

Erebus looked between his friends and tried to make sense of everything. It was way too much of coincidence that the Headmaster would hide an artefact such as the Philosopher's Stone inside the castle and then have his protégé and his friends know about it. Erebus had his own opinion about how the Gyrffindorks found out about the stone, but he first had to prove his idea before broaching the issue with the adults. "Draco, Blaise is right. We have to put into account every possible situation."

"You actually believe that Neville, scared of his own shadow, Longbottom is capable of piecing pieces together simply by overhearing professors talking about the Stone?" cried Draco indignantly.

"No, I do not but I do believe he had some help." said Erebus calmly.

"Who?" wondered Amanda.

"That is what we have to figure out." said Erebus. He then began to pace the length of the common room with a thoughtful expression on his face while his friends traced his every move.

"Do we tell the Professor about this?" queried Blaise.

"No, we won't tell them that we know until it's absolutely necessary." said Erebus. "But we best keep an eye on those Gryffindors. If the stone is really what Father is after, then we'll have to ensure that they have a clear path to it. No foolhardy Gryffindor will ever thwart a Riddle."

Erebus turned around to find all three of his friends intently following his every word, "Something else is afoot here that we still don't know about, one of which is why choose a school of all places to hide such a valuable artefact and how in Salazar's name did those Gryffindors find out, most especially Longbottom. These are no coincidences my friends and I am willing to bet my limbs that Dumbledore is behind all of this."

For the rest of the day Erebus kept to himself, contemplating on what else could be going on in the castle.

_**sSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSs**_

He was absolutely certain that with Longbottom being the Headmaster's Golden Boy, the old man must have divulged something to him and in turn told his bumbling Gryffindor friends. And so for the next few days, Erebus vested all of his limited resources into figuring out exactly how much the three Gryffindors knew about the stone that was hidden in the third floor. Being the only child and heir of the ruling Dark Lady in a House whose majority supported his family had plenty of benefits, one of which was a certain commanding hold over the entire Slytherin House, though Severus could overthrow his wishes if he found them too ridiculous or utterly pointless. An outsider to the comings and goings of the Slytherin House would never believe that a mere eleven year old boy could easily command a young man six years his seniors into doing his bidding, and if an idiot ever did resist, a simple '_You are going to regret your actions,'_ drawl coupled with an intimidating reddish green glare would immediately have them begging on their knees for forgiveness. This was rare though, but if experienced once, one hardly ever resisted again for a long time.

This was but the limited control Erebus had over his ancestor's founding house and as he makes his way through the years at Hogwarts, the more power he would ultimately have over the entire House. But for now having members of his House act as his own personal help was enough, he could wait until his third year to be able to punish them as he saw fit if they ever fail him. Immediately after Slytherin won the Quidditch match, Erebus cornered Flint and more or less ordered him and his friends to go and intimidate Longbottom and his friends at every possible opportunity without it being too obvious in payment for using his pet snake against the Gryffindors. Flint, giddy from their victory, agreed without question and once he and his friends had their fill at the victory party, left the dungeons in search of three Gryffindor first years. Erebus hoped that the daily torment from Slytherin would have Longbottom shaken and anxious enough that once he, Erebus, decide to finally descend upon him, he would be more willing to cooperate and perhaps spill a secret or two out of fear of him.

However once in class, when he was but an arms length away from the Gryffindors, he would position himself within eavesdropping range hoping that their curiosity was too much for them to control and slip-up during class when they think no one is listening to them. His efforts finally paid off during their History class three days after the game. Lupin was discussing the post-founder era of Hogwarts when he, seated a table behind Longbottom and Granger, overheard Longbottom mentioning to the bushy haired witch that he'd been called to the Headmaster's office last night.

"What did the Headmaster want?" Erebus read Granger's rapidly moving lips.

"He asked me if I'd noticed anything happening around the castle." answered Longbottom.

"Did you tell him about the stone or the three headed dog?" asked Granger, looking carefully around them.

Longbottom shook his head and then Erebus had to indiscriminately lean forward his desk just to be able to hear and read Longbottom's lips as he whispered his answer to the witch. "No, of course not, but somehow I think he knows we know about what's hidden in the third floor. He looked straight at me and then gave me a knowing smile before telling me I should never be afraid to approach him if I was ever in need, and then he ushered me out of his office."

"I don't know Nev. I'm sure the Headmaster was only being concern about your life here at Hogwarts, after all it is his job to keep the students safe and happy." said Granger, not knowing what to make do of her friend's concern.

"I guess your right, Hermione." replied Longbottom agreeably. "He's just being the caring Headmaster that he is."

Erebus wanted nothing more than to plug his ears and blind himself at the words that were exchanged between the two Gryffindors. How someone could stand to be in the old man's presence and still believe him to be after your own wellbeing was beyond him. But these two seem to take Dumbledore's grandfatherly visage at face value. He would have thought that with Granger being the annoying know-it-all that she was, the witch would be able to spot the signs of Legilimancy that Longbottom had described to her, but she hadn't and Erebus' marginal respect for her intellect dropped like a leaf in the wind.

He was now sure more than ever that the Headmaster was up to something, for why else would he be interested in what Longbottom thought was odd and more importantly why would he dig through a student's mind when he was pretty certain it was illegal to do so. His thoughts were so focused on what the Headmaster wanted with the stone and Longbottom that he failed to notice Lupin walking up towards him and call his name until a rather painful jab in the ribs from Draco brought him out of his daze.

"Draco, what the –" Erebus started in both pain and annoyance.

"Mr. Riddle, perhaps if you'd been paying attention to my class, your housemate would not have had to poke you to get your attention and you would have saved yourself a great deal of pain." said Lupin sternly, cutting off what would have been a long and cursed filled diatribe.

Rubbing his sore side, Erebus schooled his face to be void of the irritation he was currently feeling and turned as respectfully as he could to the werewolf. "I apologize, sir."

Being a werewolf, Lupin was capable to detecting the slightest inflection in how a statement was delivered, thus knowing whether someone was lying or not. And whether or not he caught the lack of sincerity in Erebus' words, he did not let it show on his face. "Very well, Mr. Riddle. Now would you mind telling me if you know the answer to what the Founders devised and left behind in the castle so that the Headmasters and Headmistresses after them could find and contact all magical children that are of aged to be schooled at Hogwarts? Your classmates don't seem to know the answer."

Erebus raised a surprise brow that Granger did not know the answer to that question, but then again the girl knew nothing about the mind arts and so he could understand why this simple question would escape her as well. Feeling rather vindictive towards the witch, Erebus flashed a superior smirk towards her before answering the werewolf's question.

"I believe Rowena Ravenclaw enchanted her quill to detect underage magic throughout the British Isles and then Godric Gryffindor had a room built called the _Room of Calling_ where Rowena's quill would reside protected and undisturbed. Salazar Slytherin then spelled this room to only reveal itself to the current Headmaster or Headmistress during times of need and finally Helga Hufflepuff sealed the room and connected it to the castle's magic, allowing only Hogwarts to have complete control over the room and quill. She also wrote the only book to ever mention the room's existence."

Granger looked about ready to shout that what he'd just said was a lie and no book written by the Hufflepuff founder exist today, much less one about a room controlled only by an inanimate castle. But at Lupin's affirmative nod of the head and 'Ten points to Slytherin!' she deflated like a balloon and stared like a gaping fish at the pale Slytherin. Erebus' smirk just grew bigger at her expression and soon the pain to his side was forgotten and Draco released an audible sigh of relief.

* * *

**A/N: **For those you read the original version of this chapter, I hope your satisfied on how I edited the whole Amanda overhears the Gryffindors scene.

Expect the next chapter to be out in a few weeks, one at the latest and two at the most.

Read and review!

'Til next post

**_dan4eva_**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: **Here's the latest chapter I promised. I know it's a little later than I said I would have it up, but my beta is in Scotland right now and has no access to the internet until she gets back on November. Now I couldn't possible wait that long to have this chapter up so I took it upon my self to read it through at least one more time and check it for errors I might have missed. It's not entirely error free, I'm sure there's bound to still be some errors. I'll probably repost this chapter once my beta hands in her corrections. But bottom line is, I've tried correcting this and I am now posting it for all of you to enjoy!

I'm not really sure when the next chapter will be up since I've not written it out yet, but I will try not to have a very long interval between the chapters, like what happened to this one. Rest assured though that despite my terrible posting schedule, the idea for this part of what will probably be a seven part series, counting for all of Erebus' years at Hogwarts, is still very much fresh in my mind. So no worries about my muse dying or anything. My only real problem is time management.

**Disclaimer: **Any thing unfamiliar here is mine. However those that are familiar belong to the wonderful JKR.

* * *

**Chapter 14**

Hogwarts' student body was feeling very restless. A massive blizzard had been raging outside the castle for three straight days forcing its occupants to remain within its protective walls. All classes and activities held outdoors had been cancelled until further notice causing a restless drone to spread all over the ancient castle as it meant that Quidditch was also cancelled. Erebus was no exception to the restlessness that was spreading throughout the castle. However his agitation was brought upon something entirely different, whereas everyone else was fidgety at being kept indoors, Erebus was simply tired of being in the company of far too many hyper children. In the three days that the blizzard raged throughout Northern Scotland, Erebus had not found a single solitary moment, let alone hear himself think, and he had a lot of things to think about.

First of was the Philosopher's Stone hidden within Hogwarts that his father was obviously after, and to make matters more complicated, three Gryffindors knew about the stone as well. But as thought provoking as his other problems were, nothing compared to the unease he was feeling about the entire situation. There were just certain elements that did not add, like why a wizard as powerful as Nicholas Flamel would be willing to part with his precious stone? Flamel was more senior to Dumbledore and was just as powerful in his old age; he did not need someone else protecting his stone for him. Then there were the questions of why of all the Gryffindors in Hogwarts, it had to be Longbottom and his little group of idiots that had to find out about the stone. There were simply far too many coincidences to keep Erebus' analytical mind at ease.

In an effort to keep himself from hexing the next person to sigh and whine about being cooped up in side the castle, Erebus found himself a nice, dark niche in the upper floors of the ancient castle where he could meditate and mull over his thoughts. Shiva, who had insisted on following him, was also quite tired of the ruckus in the common room, but had left him an hour ago in pursuit of a mouse she'd seen lurking around. It was while he was doing a rather complex third year hex on a passing spider that his familiar slithered back up his arm, a tuff of what looked like brown fur stuck on one of her fangs.

"_Ssshiva, didn't I tell you to clean yourself after a meal before ssslithering up to me?" _cried Erebus indignantly, spelling the fur off of his snake.

"_Sssorry massster, but I wasss in a hurry."_ replied Shiva coiling around his arm.

"_And why were you in a hurry?"_ asked Erebus, curious.

"_To tell you sssomething massster. But look, he'sss here." _hissed Shiva, her pointing at someone walking towards them. "_Lookie lookie who'sss here massster…"_

Erebus looked up to where his familiar was staring at and saw Longbottom, all alone, walking in their direction. A conspiring smile then graced his face.

"_Ssstay where you can be ssseen, Ssshiva."_ said Erebus. It was a good thing that their current location was so perfectly secluded in darkness that no one would ever seen them unless they really looked. He waited until the Gryffindor was only a few steps from him before emerging from the shadows.

"Good morning, Longbottom." Erebus said cheerfully, as if greeting an old friend.

The timid Gryffindor stopped in his tracks, nearly colliding with him. "W-what do you want, R-riddle?" said Longbottom, stuttering and paling at the sight of the rather large snake coiled up in the Slytherin's arm.

"Oh, nothing much, Longbottom." Erebus stated, looking the boy up and down. "Just wanted to ask you a few questions."

"What could I possibly know that you'd want to know?" asked Longbottom, taking a step away from the Slytherin and his snake, who had by now taken to hissing profanities at the Gryffindor. It said a lot about Erebus' self-control when he managed to maintain his aloof expression despite his familiar's highly amusing, albeit vulgar comments.

"Oh, you'd be surprised, Longbottom." stated Erebus, cutting the distance between them. "Tell me, how was your meeting with the Headmaster?"

Erebus watched as the chubby boy's eyes widened, "What's it to you?" Longbottom cried, a spark of his Gryffindor bravery briefly shinning through.

The Slytherin aristocrat raised a perfectly amused brow and smirked. "You'll find that everything concerning you concerns me, Longbottom." Erebus broke through the Gryffindor's personal space and his softly whispered words caused Longbottom's hair to stand on end. "Or have you forgotten why you live with your grandmother?"

Longbottom paled dramatically and Erebus could see the boy clench his fist tightly. "Y-y-y-o-o-u…" the Gryffindor stuttered horribly.

"I, what, Longbottom?" drawled Erebus condescendingly, crossing his arms before him and straightening out to his full height; slight though he maybe in height, the effect was still threatening, especially with a large snake coiled up his arm.

"Don't talk about my parents like that!" Longbottom breathed out harshly.

"And why shouldn't I, Longbottom? Your tragedy is very much part of wizarding history that it pretty much becomes public property. Everyone knows what happened on that _tragic_ night and as a prominent member of our society, I have the right to know about the wellbeing of our two most celebrated Aurors. They after all stood up against the forces of Darkness." said Erebus, circling around the visibly enraged Gryffindor. Erebus then leaned in and whispered disdainfully in the Gryffindor's ear. "Brave, unlike you!"

Erebus pulled back immediately just as Longbottom clumsily tried to punch him the face, a satisfied smirk plastered in his face.

"So, Longbottom, care to tell me what trouble Gryffindor's Golden Boy has gotten himself into that he has to go see the Headmaster?" asked Erebus with genuine curiosity. The sudden change in both topic and attitude caused the slight panting Gryffindor to stare owlishly at Erebus.

"T-t-that is none of your business!" replied Longbottom in a soft trembling voice.

"Perhaps you believe yourself better than us for being the Headmaster's chosen protégé that simple school rules no longer apply to you." taunted Erebus angrily, a mad glint in his eyes. "But of course the Headmaster being a former Gryffindor will perpetually favour his former House, and with you, his Golden Boy in the same House, you'll always be treated like a saint, incapable of getting into trouble."

Longbottom clearly looked uncomfortable, and just as Erebus was about to speak again, the Gryffindor spoke up in agitation. "Look, meeting Fluffy was an accident! We didn't mean to end up in the third floor."

Erebus fought hard not to openly smile victoriously at the easily manipulated boy who looked like he was about to sick up at having just blurted out what he did, to a Slytherin nonetheless. Erebus therefore contented himself by starring down the horrified Gryffindor. "Fluffy?" he intoned incredulously.

"Riddle, please, you'll get Hag–" Longbottom clamped and shaking hand over his mouth before he could cause further damage and stared beseechingly at Erebus.

"So it was the oaf who informed you of this. And the Headmaster has not seen fit to dismiss him for divulging school secrets to a mere eleven year old boy?" drawled Erebus, enjoying the look of dread on Longbottom's face.

"Please, Riddle…" begged Longbottom, reaching out towards the Slytherin. But before he could get any closer, Shiva hissed menacingly at the boy.

"Touch me Longbottom, and you'll wish you'd never been born." exclaimed Erebus with a cold sneer, his familiar hissing ferociously on his arm

Fortunately better their interaction escalated into something else, a stern, rather obnoxious voice drifted into the corridor. "What is going on here?"

Erebus closed his eyes briefly, schooling his expression to that of complete innocence before turning around to face the newcomer. The bespectacled young man was of medium height, had a head full of red hair and a face splattered with freckles.

'_A Weasley'_ thought Erebus disdainfully.

"You're that Riddle kid, aren't you?" said Weasley.

"And which Weasley are you?" replied Erebus in voice that clearly indicated he didn't care.

"Percival Weasley, Gryffindor Prefect." said Weasley with a frown but then puffing out his chest to show his Prefect badge. "And mind your manners, boy!"

"You can't tell me what I can or cannot do, Weasley." intoned Erebus haughtily and the turned his eyes away from the eye sore that was Weasley hair. "Well Longbottom, it was nice talking to you. But I fear I must leave now."

"Just wait a minute Riddle." demanded Weasley, flustered. "I don't remember snakes being included in Hogwarts' allowable list of pets."

Erebus' eyes flickered upwards, meeting that of Longbottom's wide brown ones, causing the boy to step back in surprise, before turning around to face the prefect once more. "Then report me, Weasley." he said coolly and nonchalantly, oblivious to the fact that both Gryffindors had taken a step back at the dark look on his face.

"I-I will!" cried Weasley, surprised at ominous look on the Slytherin's face.

'Very well now may I take my leave?" asked Erebus, his tone patronizing.

"Yes," said Weasley in a hard voice. "And ten points from Slytherin."

Weasley looked rather smug with himself but Erebus merely gave him an indulgent smile before walking away from the corridor, though not before turning his piercing green and red eyes towards Longbottom. And as he was walking away he could hear Longbottom talking to the prefect about how he should not have taken any points from Slytherin. Erebus smiled happily at that and began stroking his familiar's scaly head.

"_That wassss fun, wasssn't it, Ssssshiva?"_ hissed Erebus. _"Ruffling Gryffindor featherssss."_

"_Yessss, Masssster." _

Walking back to the portrait that concealed the Gryffindor Common Room, Longbottom felt himself shivering in fear at that sound of cackling coming from the floor below.

_**sSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSs**_

"What did you do?"

"Excuse me?"

"Weasley and Granger are staring daggers at you while Longbottom looks like his toad has just died, not that that would be horrible. You did something to them, now what was it?"

"Ray, you wound me with your accusation."

"Reby, you reek with excitement."

Erebus glared at the name and turned away from his cousin to find that Weasley and Granger were indeed staring murderously at him from across the Great Hall. "They're just furious." said Erebus softly in way of explanation.

"That's pretty much obvious from the way they can't keep their glares off you." replied Draco

"Let's just say that they're mad that I was able to get one of their tongues wagging." Erebus smirked causing the two Gryffindors to glare at him even more, not that their glares were intimidating, Anna probably had the most intimidating glare next to the his father and godfather's.

Blaise, who had simply been listening to his friends' conversation up until now, looked up at the individual expressions on the three Gryffindors' faces and came to a conclusion. "Longbottom." he stated evenly.

"Yes, I haven't had that much fun since that day when Draco found out that Uncle Luc was in negotiations with the Parkinson's about a possible betrothal." said Erebus, seemingly lose in a memory.

"Can you please not bring up that particular event?" cried Draco incredulously.

"Come now Draco, you have to admit that was some powerful bit of accidental magic." said Erebus, taking a bite out of his Shepard's Pie.

"Yes, Lucius was left bald for an entire week." Blaise chuckled heartily, earning surprised looks from those around them.

"Well I'll admit cursing Father's hair off was funny." Draco conceded. "But still, I do not want to remember that event. It took me awhile to get Pansy to stop clinging to me and for the nightmares of a shrieking future Mrs. Malfoy to stop."

Erebus snorted at the mental image and said, "Yes, Pansy is better suited to being the future wife of someone who can handle and has an affinity to dark creatures." He then hissed in pain as the Italian wizard before him promptly gave his legs a sharp kick.

"So what did Longbottom spill?" asked Draco, hoping to change the topic of their discussion. "Did he tell you how they managed to find out about the Stone?"

"It's not really wise to discuss that here, Ray." said Erebus, as he rubbed his sore leg. "Plus Amanda isn't here, as much as I would love to tell you all how I managed to get Longbottom to talk, I do not like repeating myself."

Knowing that that was all he was going to get from his cousin about the matter, Draco asked, "Did Amanda say when she'll be done doing whatever she's doing in the library?"

"No, she left in quite a hurry and said that she needed to look at some more books for her research." said Erebus.

"I wonder want has gotten her attention? She's been running back and forth the library for three days now. If I didn't know any better, I'd say she's trying to embody Granger. " mused Draco.

"Perhaps she's found something new to her and wants to know more about it?" suggested Erebus, now getting curious as to what their friend was up to.

"Well, she could have just asked us." said Draco.

"That's the problem." Blaise uttered nonchalantly.

"What is?" asked Draco while Erebus looked on in earnest.

"She doesn't want to ask either of you or me for that matter." said Blaise as if that was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Why ever not?" cried Draco in disbelief.

"You've got to look at this through her own perspective." said Blaise looking slightly uneasy at the incredulous looks from his friends. "She grew up in a muggle orphanage thinking she's worthless but then finds out that she's the last of a Pureblood line that once served in the Circle. She's angry that her heritage was robbed from her by whoever placed her in the orphanage but on the other hand she feels lose because despite knowing who she really is, she doesn't really have any idea what it all entails."

"And you know of this, how?" questioned Erebus.

"That night during Halloween, she asked me once whether I knew of the things that are temporarily being secreted from here about her heritage." said Blaise. "She said that whenever she thought she was coming close to understanding something; something else comes along to throw her off."

"Well, she should ask us then, we'd gladly tell her what she doesn't understand." exclaimed Draco.

"Haven't you been listening Draco?" intoned Blaise, causing said boy to bristle at him. "She's angry and lose, she needs to figure these things out for herself. It probably gives her a sense of control, not having to depend on others for what she feels she ought to have known."

"That's just silly." said Draco, crossing his arms and leaning slightly in his seat.

"When was the last time you asked for help?" countered Blaise, looking at both of them pointedly.

"Well I –" Draco began confidently but soon found himself unable to think of a situation.

"You see what I mean." said Blaise triumphantly. "She may have been raised as a muggle, but she's Slytherin to the core, like all of us. We are proud and detest any signs that could point to a possible weakness. She'd rather isolate herself and figure out her own heritage than admit to her friends that not knowing who she truly is is affecting her and causing her to become insecure in her surroundings."

A thoughtful silence followed Blaise's words as the three of them contemplate on Amanda's predicament.

"I can't believe I didn't think of this before." said Erebus after awhile, causing Blaise and Draco to stare at him in confusion.

"As her friends who will not judge her for this," explained Erebus, his eyes flashing briefly towards Draco, "we should try and her help adjust more to our ways. It is after all no fault of hers that she is oblivious to her rights as the only remaining member of her family. We will not be going against my mother's wishes about not discussing these _details_ within the castle, but we will be helping with her with etiquette and all the small details any Pureblood heir should know of. Hopefully that'll get rid of any evidence of her muggle upbringing and help her come out of her shell. I see so much potential in her and I hate to see it go to waste because we, her friends, are too thick to help her."

Blaise snorted at that and said, "I'm all for it!"

"Me too," said Draco, "And we should get my mother and Anna to help out as well, because you know, they're girls and all."

"Brilliant!" uttered Erebus, an enthusiastic smile on his face. "We should also try asking Mother for help but I doubt she has time for something like this. But I'll send them all letters later tonight, nonetheless."

With that particular problem solved, the three of them proceeded to enjoy their dinner, not knowing that it would only be later in the evening that their friend would approach them with something entirely unrelated to her heritage.

_**sSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSs**_

Remus Lupin had been completely immersed in his reading that he was surprised to find that he had only half an hour left before dinner in the Great Hall ended. It was the Headmaster's rule that all of the staff be present in the Great Hall for at least one meal a day and since he'd already skipped the Great Hall for both breakfast and lunch because he'd once again found himself behind his grading as result of his monthly problems, he had no choice but to run three floors down to at least make a brief appearance and grab a bite to eat. He was descending the last few steps that would bring him to the double doors of the Great Hall when he caught sight of an unguarded Erebus Riddle walking with his friends, probably having just had their dinner and were on their way back to their common room.

The boy was truly small for his age. But he wasn't particularly worried since the boy looked healthy enough and that during his own years at Hogwarts he'd seen his fair share of boys who had their growth spurt late in life, like him, for example. No, it was not the boy's height that caught his attention, it was the look on the child's face that rooted him on the spot, for as the boy laughed and smiled, the redness in his eyes faded, revealing a brilliant shade of green that he'd only ever seen in one person in his lifetime. For months now he'd been trying to ignore the nagging feeling of familiarity that seem to be drawing him towards the boy since upon looking at the boy's lineage, he found there was nothing there to indicate that he was a long lost relation to the boy. But now, seeing the boy openly for the first time, he could clearly see the similarities between a dear friend, a pack member, that was long dead.

'_Lily?' _he thought wildly. _'But that's impossible!'_

A myriad of thoughts then passed through his head, each idea more outrageous than the last, trying to make sense on how a boy with no connection whatsoever with his deceased friend could possibly possess her aura. His thoughts however were interrupted when someone grabbed his shoulders.

"Hey Moony, where have you been?" asked James Potter.

Lupin shook his head to clear his befuddled mind before turning to answer his friend. "Just lost track of time."

Potter gave him a firm pat on the back and said, "Well you'd better get going if you want to get a bite to eat; you're cutting it real short for dinner. By the way are we still on for that drink in your quarters later?"

"Of course James," replied Lupin. But for the remainder of the evening, there was nothing on the History Professor's mind other than the bright green eyes of Erebus Riddle and Lily Potter.

_**sSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSs**_

After dinner, unaware of the thoughts running around his professor's mind, Erebus could be found engaging in a game of chess with Flint, who, by the look of things had not expected the eleven year old boy to be quite proficient.

"I thought you said you were an amateur?" Flint groaned out as his white king was trounced viciously by Erebus' dark bishop.

"Compared to Professor Snape, yes." drawled Erebus with a smirk on his face. Flint shook his head in disbelief before planting his face in his hands. "Well I'm always up for a rematch, as soon as you've practiced and improved that is."

The Slytherin Prefect and Quidditch Captain groaned loudly in his hands. Erebus, taking the groan as a negative said, "It's your loss."

The fifth year soon left his side and he began repairing the damaged pieces of his chess set, setting up another round playing solely against himself. It was a self meditating technique he'd learnt from his mother when she was teaching him Occlumency. It was an extremely uncommon technique to use since the mind would still be working, as opposed to the clear mental state that is required of the mental art. But Erebus found the unconventional meditation fascinating and took it upon himself as a challenge whether he could keep all his other thoughts away from his mind and keep it relatively empty but still be able to maintain high mental facilities. It was like pushing everything else away and focusing every ounce of energy towards one, extremely important object or situation. He knew his godfather used this particular meditative technique when brewing highly dangerous potions as it made one's magic more perceptive to its surroundings as a means of compensating for the mind being so closed off and focused on a singular object. One indication of a having attained the perfect meditative state for this method was when a diagnostic charm reveals that the person has no visible brain activity, meaning that clinically the person was catatonic. He'd yet to reach that level of '_catatonia_' with this method of meditation, but he was a natural Occlumens, capable of blocking a proficient Legilimens. Plus he knew of other meditative methods to achieve a clear state of mind that he wasn't he in a great hurry to master the art of '_catatonia'_ and practiced only when he had time.

It was a good hour later when Erebus' magic sensed someone approaching him and without looking up to check who had just sat on the sofa before him he said, "Back from the library at last, I see."

"You do know that chess is meant to be played with another person, right?" said Amanda, staring at the on going match.

Erebus smirked, taking down the black knight. "Yes, I am aware of that."

"So this is just Erebus Riddle being his mysterious, I do really weird things that no one can ever hope of achieving because I am the Heir of Slytherin, Prince of Darkness, self?" asked Amanda in amusement.

The Slytherin Common Room was, for the first time, witness to the rich, ringing laughter of one Erebus Ferrox Riddle. Despite the laughter being short lived, Erebus' eyes still shone with mirth as he address his shocked friend, after all it was rare for him to ever open himself up to anyone other than his family. "Really now, Amanda, Prince of Darkness?" drawled Erebus, his amusement still obvious on his face.

Amanda shook her head, shock but pleased at the reaction she'd gotten out of her friend. "Well, you kind of are. Especially with who's in your family and standing in the wizarding world."

"Whatever you say Amanda," mused Erebus, it was then that he noticed the uncertain expression on Amanda's face and the rather large tome she held tightly in her arms. He leaned forward and said, "What's that you've got there?"

Erebus frowned as Amanda got flustered at the mention of the book she was holding. "Ahh…" she began uncomfortably.

"Does it have something to do with your family? Are you confused about something?" Erebus prompted, hoping to be able to help her. He however did not expect her to shake her head vigorously and stare at him as if she had done something bad.

"Then what's wrong Amanda?" asked Erebus, trying to figure what she could have found in the library to cause her to become like this.

'Could we go to your room instead?" asked Amanda quietly. "You know… more privacy."

Erebus stared at her, half tempted to look into her mind, but said nothing in return as he stood up and led her towards his and Draco's private room.

"Where are Blaise and Draco?" asked Amanda as soon as they reached the door to his and Draco's room.

"Inside," said Erebus, holding the door open for her. "Ladies first."

Amanda, still clutching the tome tightly in her hand, entered the room to find Blaise and Draco lying on their bellies on the carpeted floor, browsing through a Quidditch magazine. At the sound of the door opening Blaise and Draco looked up.

"You're back." said Blaise, getting on his feet.

"Good evening Amanda," said Draco, gathering the magazine before getting up on his feet as well.

"Hi guys," greeted Amanda, making her way towards them. Erebus closed the door sharply behind him and cast a few privacy spells as well to be certain before making his way towards the center of the room where everyone was gathered.

"Is there a problem?" asked Blaise, seeing the looks on their faces.

"Amanda's found something in the library," explained Erebus and Amanda took that as her cue to lay the book down onto Erebus' bed. The three boys gathered around her to get a good look at it. The book was bound handsomely in white leather with the Hogwarts crest engraved boldly on the front cover while the year '_1978'_ was embossed right below it.

"My parents have one of those." stated Draco. "That's a Hogwarts yearbook. Why'd you get it out of the library for?" Erebus looked at the year on the book and had a feeling he knew exactly why Amanda had taken the book out of the library.

"I know we're not allowed to talk about my parents or anything else related to the Dark whilst inside the castle so I thought perhaps I could search in the library for any information about my parents instead, seeing as the Dark Lady knew them from her days here at Hogwarts. I was just hoping I might find a picture of them." said Amanda.

"Well, did you find one?" asked Draco.

Amanda looked crestfallen as she shook her head, sitting down on the bed she said, "I don't even know how they look like. I only had a family name to go by and according to school records Hogwarts has never had a student by the last name of McEvoy."

"I'm sorry Amanda," said Erebus, sitting down beside her and putting a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"I believe the McEvoys were one of the many Pureblood families that hid themselves during the war. They would have sent all their children to Dumstrang," said Draco as he took the book in his hands and began flipping idly through the pages.

"I kind of figured that out when my search turned up empty," Amanda said dejectedly.

"But then that leaves your mother," said Blaise who was leaning on the post of Erebus' four poster bed, his arms crossed before his chest.

"Yeah," said Amanda with a bit of excitement evident in her voice.

"Hey!" cried Draco as Amanda took the book from his head. "You could have said please!"

Amanda smiled sheepishly at him and then began slipping the book towards the end. "I remember the Dark Lady, or Lily as she wants me to call her, saying that she was good friends with my mother and so I tried looking for pictures of Lily during her years at Hogwarts, you know, to see if there was a picture taken with the both of them together. But then I found this."

Erebus stared at the picture where her hand had landed on and saw his mother arm in arm with none other than James Potter. There was a caption written below in a thin spidery scrawl that read '_Gryffindor Lovebirds'_.

"Oh my," he heard Blaise gasp. "The stories are true. I thought mother was pulling my leg."

Erebus and Draco exchanged looks of resignation. They knew for quite sometime now that they had to tell Amanda sometime soon about their family's convoluted tale if they were wanted her to feel welcomed and part of their group. Having grown up with the rest of them, Blaise was already aware of certain rumours and secrets that tend to circulate amongst the Death Eater ranks, but this was a well guarded family secret, that if exposed at the wrong time and at the wrong person could mean the end of the Dark. After all, Lily Potter née Evans has been dead for ten years.

"You don't have to explain or anything, I'll understand." offered Amanda at the sight of their conflicted expressions. However Erebus could detect disappointment seeping out of Amanda and that propelled him into telling her his family's past, after all, come Christmas she would be well aware of her heritage and role in the Dark, she would soon be well ingrained into their world, there was no point in delaying the inevitable.

"What we're about to tell you is restricted to family members and Circle members and therefore can never go beyond this room, understood?" warned Erebus seriously. Something akin to surprise flitted through Amanda' ice blue eyes before straightening her back and nodding solemnly at them.

"All this of course happened before our time and what I'll be telling you is simply what we've been told and managed to gather through the years and a thorough interrogation of our grandfather's portrait back in Malfoy Manor. My mother is the youngest child of Giselle and Abraxas Malfoy but before she could be born Dumbledore took our grandmother away, hoping to weaken our grandfather Abraxas, the then Lord Malfoy because he opposed Dumbledore and was known to be a supporter of the Dark as well a powerful Dark wizard himself. Grandfather searched and searched for them unfortunately Dumbledore hid them too well and it was a year later that our grandmother's body was found in the shores of Azkaban, the wizard prison. But my mother was no where to be found. Grandfather was devastated at grandmother's death and according to those who knew him well; Abraxas Malfoy was never the same after that. He devoted his entire life into finding my mother whilst trying to defame the great Albus Dumbledore."

Erebus stopped and watched the look of shock in Amanda's face. It was then that Draco took reins over the tale they both knew so well. "It wasn't until my father's third year at Hogwarts that he found a red-haired first year that looked exactly like grandmother Giselle. She was soon sorted into Gryffindor but something told my father that she was unhappy with the Hat's decision."

"Uncle Luc and grandfather Abraxas tried to find out everything about this young red-headed girl," continued Erebus. "But it seemed everywhere they looked they were blocked or hit a dead-end. It was as if she'd just appeared in the doorstop of a muggle family one day –"

"Which is exactly what happened!" Draco blurted out

Frowning, Erebus nodded. "Yes, thank you for that Ray. Indeed after much searching, mother found out that she was indeed left on the doorsteps of a muggle family. But we are getting ahead of ourselves here. Dumbledore had the Marauders watching her every move and every time Uncle Luc or grandfather made an attempt to get close to her, something would always turn up, sending her further away from their reach. However Dumbledore did not count on my mother befriending one Severus Snape before attending Hogwarts and Uncle Sev was sorted into Slytherin. Uncle Luc used Uncle Sev to get my mother to see the lies Dumbledore had been weaving around her. Since they couldn't openly approach her, it took until my mother's third year for her to finally unearth everything that Dumbledore had been hiding from her. To say that my mother despises Dumbledore is like saying Kneazles are cautious."

Pausing for a moment to recall the events that followed his mother's discovery of her family, Erebus was amused to find that their two listeners were very much enthralled by the tale of his mother's life.

'_If only you guys knew what she had to go through to get where she is now,'_ he thought sombrely, deeply proud of his mother's accomplishments.

"However grandfather Abraxas knew that Dumbledore would never let Aunt Lily go," said Draco. "And so he and the Dark Lord came up with the plan to deceive Dumbledore."

"Father told her that in order to be free of Dumbledore's hold she had to go along with the Headmaster's plan. Of course Mother greatly opposed the plan since she had just about had enough of the Headmaster's manipulation. But Father soon got her to agree and they even went on to have her date Potter." The name was spat viciously as Erebus pointed towards the still open yearbook. "They had to make Dumbledore believe that my mother was still oblivious to her heritage while slowly Father taught her everything he knew. And that is Lily Riddle nee Malfoy's tale – as we've been told of course."

"You think there's more to it?" asked Amanda, staring at the picture of the seemingly happy couple. But now that she knew the story behind the fake portrait, she could see the gleam of sadness and anger that would briefly flicker in Lily's eyes whenever Potter was looking the other way.

"Of course there is." said Erebus matter-of-factly. "This is Lady Moraga we're talking about, my mother, the Lady of Darkness; of course there is something more to her."

"Like her ability to come from the shadows?" said Amanda, recalling that time when the Dark Lady suddenly emerge in their Head of House's quarters.

"Ah…" intoned Erebus with a smirk. "That is called _Shadow Walking_; mother promised the she'll be teaching me that particular art this summer. It's one of the few rare abilities only she, and now I, can perform. Do not ask me why and how though," said Erebus at once when he saw Amanda about to question him. "It's not my tale to tell and despite how great these abilities are and how they make her powerful, she acquired them at an extremely young age through exposure to evils and darkness no one should have been exposed to at her age. Quite frankly I'm thankful that the abilities, despite being blocked right now, were passed on to me rather than having to acquire them like how she did."

"You make it sound really bad," said Amanda in a quite voice.

"You have no idea," Blaise answered, speaking out for the first time since seeing the picture.

"You know?" demanded Draco and Erebus at the same time, whipping around to get a good look at their friend.

"I've heard rumours," said Blaise softly and a visible tremble shook his body.

Erebus and Draco closed their eyes at the image that came to their heads, their body shivering slightly despite the non existent wind.

"If that's how you guys react to it, I don't think I want to know anymore." said Amanda timidly.

Erebus shook his head at that and looked at her intently. "No, you should ask her, you have the right to know, you'll be part of the Circle once you grow up. I promise she'll tell you. I simply cannot give the tale justice if I tell it to you now because simply put, I will never be able to experience it the same way she experienced it in her youth."

Amanda took the book in her hands once more and slipped through the pages, hoping to still find a clue on her mother's identity. It was then that she stumbled upon the last picture in the yearbook. It was once again a picture of a seventeen year old Dark Lady, this time however she was sitting under a large tree in the grounds with a dark haired boy who could be but none other than an equally young Severus Snape.

"They look so young," mumbled Amanda

"Hard to imagine they were once as young as us, right?" Erebus said in return.

Looking up from the pages of the book, light blue eyes met with piercing reddish green eyes then turned towards a pair of cool silver one and finally towards deep brown ones before uttering sincerely, "Thank you guys, for telling me all that you can."

Erebus smiled a warm smile that made her blush. "You're welcome Mandy, and I promise that by Yule, you'll know everything there is to know about your family."

"I'd like that." smiled Amanda.

* * *

**A/N:** Next chapter is going to be the start of Yule, and as we all know, that is when Lily promised to tell Amanda who she really is. I can't wait for you all to find out who her family is. Here's a tidbit, she still has one remaining family member and I am positive I placed a few hints on who it is in the earlier chapters. The one's who are able to guess gets to have the next chapter dedicated to them and a shout-out to their fics if they have one.

On another important note, who here is excited to watch DH part 1? I know I am. And who here thinks 147 minutes is way too short?

Read and review

'til next post

_**dan4eva**_


	15. Author's Note

**A/N:** I am so sorry to disappoint you guys, but this is not a new chapter.

I have just had the most horrible experience with another author and I am in desperate need of a friend and I don't think my real life friends will be able to help me or understand this. I am not going to be shy or be humble by hiding the name of this person because he/she has repeatedly insulted my intelligence. This very rude author goes by the name of BlackPrince24, author of the adopted fic, Sense and Sensibility.

Like any good meaning reader and fellow writer in I pointed out to him that his fic is identical to that of a fic I have read before. Now I asked this before I read then A/N at the end of his fic, and I admit that was a mistake in my part, but you can't deny the fact that some people skip the A/N, like how I know some of you will not read this at all, even I am guilty of that. As for the A/N in his/her summary, I have so many fics on alert and with only 2 chapters to his tale, he/she can't really expect me to be familiar to his fic at once!

And so I reviewed his/her story, told him that I love the fic but that it was identical to the one Id read before. I then go on to say that I hope he/she was the same author with new account and under a different name, rewriting the story so as to avoid any problems. Was there anything rude in the way I messaged him? Tell me please, because the reply I got from him implies that I had been very very rude to him/her.

Everyone knows that putting all your message in ALL CAPS signifies you are either mad, screaming or both. So he screams at me, and this is what he/she tells me (I copy and pasted it) "For the love of god, YOU HAVE AN EXPLANATION ALREADY, DO I HAVE TO PUT IT IN EVERY CHAPTER? SERIOUSLY? THE AUTHOR'S NOTE, IT CLEARLY STATES THIS STORY WAS ADOPTED. THE SUMMARY OF THE STORY, CLEARLY STATES THIS STORY WAS ADOPTED. HOW MUCH MORE DO YOU NEED?"

Now is that rude or what? My polite question was paid back with an extremely obnoxious reply. I should have let his/her comment slide by, but I couldn't so I replied to him again, as polite as I had been to him/her earlier, telling him/her that a simple and diplomatic answer of please read the author's notes would have suffice.

But then he/she goes on to say that I have no comprehension skills and have no brain cells because I missed his/her author's note at the end! Is that even logical? Then he blocks me! The gall! If this is how he reacts to all questions he gets, I don't know what kind of person tolerates him or her.

I am aware that accusing one of plagiarism sucks, but technically it is not his work, he adopted it and it will continue to be hot his/hers until she makes changes to it, so what right does this author have to say rude and insulting words to an honest reviewer?

I am deeply hurt by this person and despite how great the fic is I am currently repelled by him/her. Please guys, I want to read what you all have to say. I don't expect you guys to do anything but I would really love so support or someone to help me understand why this author is so mean. I am a few months away from taking my Medical College Admission Test and I don't really need to question my capabilities.

The next chapter for all my fics are being written. I will not promise to post a new chapter soon because I am just too busy to write, but be assured that I will get one posted, one way or another! You can hold me to that! These Author's notes will be removed once the new chapter is up.


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